Nightwishing
by Maurelle
Summary: NaruSasu After an accidental meeting Naruto binds Sasuke to him and awakens a sleeping power within. This causes the two to come under the watch of the Council of Vampires. Will they be able to survive? Will they want to? AU
1. Chapter 1

a/n: A couple of things first. This world is straight from my mind with only loose influences from others. You want to use it? Give me some credit. If something isn't clear, drop me a line in a review and I'll answer.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Amaranth.

Baptized with a perfect name

The doubting one by heart

Alone without himself

_Amaranth by _ Nightwish

The club was full to the brim with bodies pulsing to the beat of the trance and techno coming out of the overly large speakers. It was dark and only glimpses of darklight colored flesh were visible for moments as the lights strobed overhead. Eyes the color of electrical currents watched the masses, a faint twinkle of amusement hidden in their depths. His tan face held a pleasant expression as he turned to his companion, who leaned with him against the black walls. They had made sure to fit in. Blonde hair was loosely spiked, eyes lined lightly with shimmering black, nails painted black. His shirt, such as it was, was sleeveless black leather, held together with three bronze buckles, roughly the size of his fists. Black spandex was snug just below the top of his hip bones, leaving a small glimpse of tan skin between the shirt and pants. A bronze studded belt angled it's way from the top of one hip to the top of the opposite thigh.

"See anything you like?" Naruto asked in a light voice. His companion flicked eyes a shade of green so bright they almost blinded people at him. His hair was shorter, a deep crimson, the color of dried blood. A matching tattoo covered the upper right of his forehead, the kanji for love. His eyes were lined a thick dull black, giving him the look of either an insomniac or a raccoon. His clothing matched that of his neighbor, save they were the color of a good red wine. His skin was so pale that it glowed under the attention of the blacklights.

"No," Gaara frowned at the crowd, ignoring the few come hither looks he was getting from both the male and female population of the club. The blonde rolled his eyes and looked toward the entrance about to suggest they head for another club then. His eyes snagged on a figure that just walked in. His skin was as pale as his companion's, but his eyes were a black so deep they glowed without the aid of the lights. His face and figure looked as though it were sculpted from the finest white marble; all hard angles. He wore a black fishnet shirt and pants a blue so dark it looked black until the light hit it. On his arm hung a pink haired girl, eyes a color caught between green and grey. She wore a low cut black dress that stopped just below her ass, and a pair of thigh high black boots. He swallowed and pushed off the wall, earning an amused look from the other.

"How about them?" he asked already moving towards them. The redhead shrugged, making it clear he did not care one way or the other. They slid through the crowd like water, towards the bar where the two sat.

* * *

He felt the eyes on him the second he entered the club. Years of training had him scanning the crowd for the source, ignoring the pink haired girl tugging on his arm. He could not believe that she had managed to convince him to come here. He hated crowds, and loathed the music that these places played. But she had insisted, something about him needing to get laid. He snorted, catching the glimpse of a blonde across the crowd. He fingered the grip of the knife tucked in his waistband. He should've known. Clubs were like all you can eat buffets to their kind. He moved with Sakura to the bar, doing his best not to let her know he had found work. She, however, knew him all too well. 

"Let it go," she hissed at him as they took seats at the bar. He frowned at her. She could never understand what drove him. He didn't hunt for the joy of the kill. He hunted to prevent others from going through his pain. He turned to talk to her and found himself looking at the blonde from before. He felt his breath catch in his throat. He was beautiful. Not in the overly feminine sense that most male vampires were, but in a way that screamed both power and sex. His eyes were a color that only vampires could possess, and Sasuke had to clamp down on the urge to get a better look at them. He knew that vampire eyes were hypnotic, and the odd color was a way for them to entice their prey into looking at them.

"Name's Naruto," he said leaning on the counter between the two. He watched the blonde's mouth move, judging it to be safer than trying to look into his eyes. He showed no hint of the fangs he knew were hidden in that mouth. His right hand, which was against the bar, tightened on the hilt of his knife. He wanted nothing more than to plunge it into the heart of the dead thing smirking so charmingly at him. He hunted vampires. He did not fuck them. He blinked as an idea came to him. He smirked evilly.

"Sasuke Uchiha, slayer of the fourth circle," he said. It won't matter how old those two were, it was a fact that you did not mess with any slayer inside the inner five rings of slayers. It was akin to suicide. The rings were determined by the number and level of kills made. The fact that he had made the inner rings at the age of twenty made him a practical legend. But to his surprise, the vampire just twirled a lock of hair the color of polished gold, and made sure the two were eye to eye, despite the fact that Sasuke was sitting. Sakura gasped drawing the attention of the redhead. She could not believe that Sasuke was being so bold. You did not just go out telling everyone your profession like that. It was a good way to end up dead.

"Really," Naruto said and his voice made it sound like the idea excited him. And it did. He had encountered many hunters in the years he had been alive, it was the curse of his age. He had once had a lover that was a slayer of the first circle. He pushed back the memories and the pain that came with him. That had not ended well. Sasuke suppressed his surprise. Was he crazy? One of the vampires that lost his mind over time and was too powerful for the others to put out of his suffering? But it was all put into the back of his head as he stared into those eyes. He could feel himself drowning in a sea of impossible blue. Wait. With a mental jerk he pulled himself from mental fog.

"Why don't we take this outside," Sasuke hissed. He was pissed. To have a vampire try to roll your mind was a grave insult in his profession. Never mind the fact that he had almost fallen for it. The fact that he had attested to the power of the vampire standing infront of him. The vampire just looked amused.

"Sure. I've never had a problem with a little exhibition," Naruto knew that he shouldn't be angering the other, but he could not help it. Something about the slayer stirred at a playful side he had not shown in hundreds of years. Gaara, however, had had enough of his partner's game.

"Let it go, Naruto. He is clearly not interested in either a romp in the sheets or being a donor. And you know the Rules," Gaara grabbed his arm and yanked him slightly away from the counter. Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a look. Rules? They had to know a lot about vampire society in order to work on the fringes of it like they did. Never had they heard any kind of rules about prey other than the overriding rule: keep hidden. That rule had been voided when the Counsel had decided to sue for citizenship in America. It had been a ploy by the American Counsel to separate them from the European Counsel and had largely worked. With certain side effects. They could not terrorize the citizenry in the form of killing for no reason, they could not vote, they could not turn anyone under the age of eighteen, and they were not subject to trial by jury. A judge could sign a death warrant for a vampire if there was even a suspicion of wrong doing. Of course, the vampires appeared to follow the rules. Key word being appeared.

Naruto licked his lips and grinned foxily at his friend. He knew the Rules. The Rules they had followed since they had met over six hundred years ago. They had both been at the mercy of their Makers, brutal, powerful vampires, who cared nothing for whether you were willing or not. Vampires who could roll with the flick of their fingers. For vampires were not immune to the gaze of other vampires more powerful than they. The two of them had put down their masters and fled to American to escape the long reach of the European Counsel and_ Her_. They had spent the last two hundred years roaming the country, never attaching themselves to any one master vampire, having become masters themselves. Thus they had created the rules. Never take the unwilling. Never take in pain. And the biggest one of all: never force anything. Having Gaara remind him of the Rules was like being slapped. Naruto turned to his companion, annoyance radiating off him. His eyes flicked over the crowd and he frowned, catching sight of silver hair, and light dancing off round glasses. He could've sworn he had seen that face before. Gaara turned over his shoulder and followed his gaze before his eyes widening. Sasuke began watching the crowd trying to make out what was getting that reaction from the two vampires, while Sakura waved down the bartender. Gaara growled low in his throat.

"We need to leave. _Now._" He hissed it. Naruto looked confused and watched as the slayer picked up the same person. Naruto opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on, only to be shoved out of the way, an oak crossbow bolt hitting the slayer as he moved. It took only seconds for the crowd to realize what had happened and the panicking to start; long enough, though, for Gaara to grab both the blonde and the slayer before teleporting in a whirlwind of dull brown sand. Naruto found himself on the ugly carpeted floor of the room he and Gaara were sharing at a local motel, the smell of fresh blood overpowering. Next to him was a barely conscious Uchiha, blood oozing from a wound at the juncture of his next and collar bone. He rolled to sitting position, hand applying pressure to the wound, and fighting the urge to just the lap the blood up. He knew that Gaara had already left the room to fetch his sister and human servant, Temari.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for, you damned slayer," Naruto asked trying to keep the other from loosing consciousness. It was clear he was in pain. Sasuke thought about the answer, trying to take his mind off the fact that he knew he was loosing quite a bit of blood. He remembered seeing Kabuto, a man he knew as the current Lord of the City's human servant, raise the handgun sized crossbow, and realizing where he was aiming. The next thing he knew, he was pushing the vampire out of the way. Something about the idea scared him greatly.

"My body moved on it's own," he managed to choke out around the blood. Naruto frowned seeing the blood dribble out the corner of his mouth. That meant that the bolt had managed to pierce his windpipe. If he didn't do something quick he was going to drown in his own blood before he could die of blood loss. He opened his mouth to ask permission, for there was something he could do, but realized the other had lost the battle for consciousness. He swallowed and prayed that the other would forgive him for what he was about to do. It broke the biggest Rule of them all. He latched onto the wound, drinking the blood that ran warmly from the wound, and began pushing his power into it. He couldn't heal him, but he could share power with him. The only catch was that he would have to give the first of three marks that made a human into a vampire servant. It would link the two together for the rest of Sasuke's life, making him stronger, faster, and tougher than a normal human. It also gave him the ability to heal wounds that would be fatal to a normal human.

Naruto found the core of the other's life easily, twining their life forces together. He had never done this, never bound another being to him, before. He knew how it worked in theory, and was working off of that. This human had damned near given his life for him, he would be damned if he was going to let him slip away. He growled around the wound when the first memory hit. He did his best to let the images roll over him and not fight them. He did not want to pry into the other's life, but he knew fighting would only hurt the two of them and distract him from his task. He knew that when he rested for the day the memories would come back. He hoped that the other would not be subject to his own memories. His life had been far from pleasant. Finished with his task, he sat back, resting on his elbows, watching the wound. A thin line of smoke rose from it and with a soft clunk the bolt fell out on to the floor seconds before the wound closed itself. Smiling, Naruto laid on the floor, not noticing Gaara and Temari standing at the door.


	2. Chapter 2

War between him and the day

Need someone to blame

In the end, little he can do alone

Amaranth by Nightwish

Sasuke felt like shit. His entire body was one giant ache. So he laid there, unmoving, letting his senses tell him where he was. The last thing he remembered was the vampire leaning over him and asking him something. He was surprised at himself. He had taken a crossbow bolt for a creature he had spent the greater part of his life trying to eradicate. It begged closer inspection, but not at the moment. He noted the fact that he was on a bed of some kind and someone was wiping away the blood he could feel dried on his left side. He opened his eyes briefly and winced as the light was painful. He heard hushed voices off to the side, and decided that concentrating on them would be better than lying there and feeling the pain.

"Do you have any idea what you have done, Uzumaki?" he heard a voice he vaguely remembered from the club ask. It sounded angry.

"I had to. He was dying, Subaku," he recognized Naruto's voice, angry as it was, and the fact that they had to be talking about him. He wondered what the blonde vampire had done to him to make his friend react like that.

"That's no excuse. You damned well know that he's going to wish he were dead once he figures out what you did. He's a bloody slayer!" Sasuke was frowning now and opened his eyes, ignoring the pain from the light. He turned his head and found himself looking at a pretty blonde woman, who had a human version of the same eyes the redhead had, looking at him. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a series of small buns, curls escaping slightly from the confines, and she wore the baggy pants and shirt of a desert native. Her eyes widened before she let out a shriek, causing the two who had been arguing to rush next to her.

"His eyes!" she wailed, jumping up and moving away. The two vampires exchanged a look before turning to look at him. Gaara's eyes just widened slightly before he looked even angrier. Naruto laughed nervously. Sasuke raised an eyebrow wondering what the fuss was about. Temari came back after fishing a mirror from her pocket. She handed it to him. He took it and looked at his reflection. His eyes were a deep crimson, a single black tomoe resting in each just outside of the pupil. He threw the mirror as memory of the same eyes looking back at him rolled over him. He turned to the blonde, who had the good grace to look ashamed, and stood, grabbing the leather shirt he wore.

"You idiot! What the hell did you do?" his voice was low and angry. He had done everything he could think of to prevent this from happening, but he had to be sure that the other had done what he thought.

"I gave you the first mark," he said not looking him in the face. Sasuke threw him against the wall, too absorbed in his own anguish to wonder at his new strength. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Naruto was on his feet as soon as he hit the wall. He was angry now.

"You were dying! What did you want me to do?! Let you die?!" he asked coming closer. Sasuke opened his eyes, the crimson unnerving even for the vampire.

"Yes," he answered, taking the steam from the other's argument. "Death would have been kinder than waking _this_ up." Sasuke sat on the end of the bed. They were looking at him like he was crazy. He knew that what he was saying probably sounded crazy, but it was true. He knew that thanks to the mark, he was going to be dealing with them for a while. He knew that that meant he would have to explain what his eyes were. "I come from a family of necromancers. The eyes are the sign of us coming into power, a sign of maturity within our arts. I have been suppressing them since I was eight. Now you've come along and forced them out by binding your power to mine." The last was a growl. It was more than what he had told anyone else. It would have to do.

Naruto was in shock. Necromancers were the true lords of the dead. The truly powerful ones could command master vampires and raise armies of the dead. He felt sick at the thought of what he had done. Vampires had tried to bind necromancers to them during the great wars and had found out all that it did was give a greater immunity and control to the necromancer. It gave them the ability to control the vampire that had tried to bind them. He had just sold his soul to the man sitting on his bed. Temari was pale and her eyes kept jumping between the three. Gaara looked positively livid and had lost a little control over the glamour that allowed vampires to appear human. His face was contorted and very animal like as he glared at the Uchiha on the bed.

"I say we kill him," Gaara began moving toward the other. Sasuke brought his head up from where he had been looking at the ugly orange-brown of the carpet. His eyes met the others and rather than him being sucked into the vampire's gaze, the vampire was being drawn into his own. Gaara could feel the tug and he fought, feeling himself beginning to sink. Temari saw what was happening and rushed to her brother's side, calling for the other sibling who was in the lobby paying for another night. She touched him and his power crackled around the room, sand blowing softly around them both. Gaara began to pull himself out of the other's gaze forcibly.

Naruto panicked, feeling the creeping power that was Gaara brush against roughly him. This was not good. Not good at all. All the power humming through the room could attract the attention they did not want. He had to end the staring contest before one killed the other. Sasuke may be fairly close to being his human servant, but Gaara had been his constant companion for hundreds of years. He had no intention of loosing either. He stepped between the two, breaking the connection. He summoned a fraction of his power, the scent of a forest fresh from rain carried on the breeze his power created. Gaara looked at him in shock. Calling his power made him angry; angry and slightly insane. It had to do with when he was turned by his Master. His Master had been a Lord of insanity. For a period mortals had even thought of him as a god, and Naruto one of his forms.

"Are you trying to kill me, Gaara?" Naruto's voice had gotten deeper as his power flowed through him. Gaara shook his head franticly. He knew that he was no match for even a tenth of Naruto's power. Sasuke watched in fascinated horror as the scene played out in front of him. He could feel the power rippling off Naruto. Unlike Gaara's that grated against his skin, it caressed him almost lovingly, like a happy cat would rub against it's owner. "No? You know that the mark is new. You know that killing him now will kill me as well. Or are you just insulting me?" His blue eyes had gone a deep purple and Gaara hit the floor, Temari cowering beside him. He knelt there, head bowed. Sasuke was finding it hard to breathe, the power was so thick in the air.

"Forgive me," his voice was soft, power forcibly dissipated. Naruto said nothing to his plea and moved forward, a snarl on his face. It was a grave insult to have another vampire look at your human servant with killing intent. It was worse to actually make a move on that intent. By vampiric law, Naruto could take the life of one of Gaara's human servants. He knew he had to obey the laws. The laws kept vampires from becoming ruthless monsters. It helped them to retain their humanity. He reached past Gaara and grabbed Temari around the neck, lifting her from the floor like a rag doll. He ignored her hands clawing at his fingers. Sasuke felt the intent to kill flow off him and stood. It was one thing to kill in self defense, another to kill because of some ancient law on his behalf. He did not need the other's protection. He was far from harmless. He used his left hand to grab Naruto's wrist, and gain his attention, ignoring the shiver that ran through his body at the contact. They locked eyes. It was like the two of them were sinking into each other; each one rolling the other. For a moment they were not two but one. Sasuke could see the other's fear of loosing someone he had risked so much to prevent from dying, the rage that Gaara would react like this, the bewilderment at what was going on. It flittered by like the barest of touches. Naruto could feel the other's sorrow and rage at having his powers forced upon him, the righteousness that had forced him to act, the careful control he kept his emotions under. The control that was moving like a coil towards him. It snaked around his arm, heading for him. Then, suddenly, one of them blinked and the spell was broken. Naruto dropped Temari on the floor like she had burnt him, and Sasuke moved away.

"What the fuck was that?" Sasuke snarled holding his head. He felt an oncoming headache. It was likely a product of the blood loss and the fact that he was running on adrenaline.

"How the hell should I know? I'm not the bloody necromancer," Naruto said, the power he had summoned disappearing on the same wind that had raised it. The two glared at each other and would have gone on had it not been for the sound of muted rock music coming from Sasuke's pants. Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out the thin piece of black plastic that pasted as his phone. He glared at the number. It was his house. He had completely forgotten that they had left Sakura at the club. He could only imagine what she was thinking. He had been shot by the Lord of the City's human servant and whisked off by a couple of vampires, one of which had made the fact that he was interested in him clear. Most likely, she had run back to mansion, told Nara, and they were hoping that the vampires would pick up to get a lock on their location, before they just GPS'd the phone's location.

"Are you going to answer that?" the voice was new and made him look up. A man with Gaara's hair squatted next to Temari on the ground, examining her throat like this was normal. He wore a baggy dark brown shirt and jeans. He by far looked the most normal of the bunch. Naruto and Gaara were watching him. He sighed. Should he give away their location? He knew that then the others would show up, regardless of whether he was ok or not. For all they knew, his mind could be rolled so badly he could be thinking he was the next Jesus Christ. But he also knew that if they killed Naruto he might die as well. He wasn't sure how many of marks were needed before he reached that stage. "Well?" Sasuke's eyes flickered to Naruto. He was torn.

"Pick it up. We might as well meet the family. Just tell them I'll be dropping you off in a few. It's getting close to dawn," Naruto said frowning. He did not want them to know where he and Gaara were staying. There was a chance that they could just decide that the best course of action would be for them to kill the two of them. Sasuke flipped open the phone and held it away from his ear as Sakura's voice screeched from the other end.

"SASUKE-KUN! Where are you?! Are you ok?! Do you need to us to come rescue you?!" her voice was loud enough that the human servants could hear it. Naruto started snickering. She sounded like his girlfriend or something. Wait. Was she his girlfriend? Was he reading him all wrong, and he was really straight?

"I'm fine," he growled out. The pounding in his head was being made worse by her voice. He wondered why he had even put up with her in the first place. She was so ungodly annoying.

"Are you sure? There was blood all over where you were. The cops almost called the trackers after you," Sasuke shuddered at the thought. The trackers were magic sniffers; people who had the power to 'sniff' out magic. They could because they had been bred to eat it. They could track all magic or even just one specific person. He had seen them in action before. He had come across a mage who had been using his powers to bring underage girls to his bed. The trackers had found him; sucked him dry. He looked like a mummy by the time they were done. And the screams, he would never forget the screams. And that was on a mortal. He could only image what would happen to a creature made purely of magic.

"That is unnecessary. I'll be home in a few minutes. So tell Nara to delete the location. I'll explain when I get there," Sasuke said closing the phone. Naruto raised an eyebrow. He was not going to let them know where they were?

"What is she? Your girlfriend?" Naruto made a joke of the comment. Sasuke shuddered at the thought.

"Hell no. And don't joke about things like that. Are we leaving or not?" He asked standing. He hoped that Sakura had managed to get his baby back to his place ok. God, he loved that car. It was a black Lexus LA-F. It was the only luxury he allowed himself. He felt that if he was going to run around killing the undead for the living, the least he could do was have a kickass car. It wasn't like his profession had a high retiring rate. Naruto nodded and stood. Gaara watched him.

"No apologies. We both broke the rules tonight. We can work on things after we rest," Naruto said with a sigh. Gaara just inclined his head to show he understood. Naruto held his hand out to Sasuke. He looked at it for a minute before taking it. The second their skin made contact, they both had to fight the urge to meet eyes. The skin burned were it touched. Naruto pulled him in so they were almost embracing. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him and Naruto sighed. "Look, I not very good at this. Gaara normally does it. I need closer contact than he does." Before Sasuke could protest he felt a warm wind blow past him, getting stronger. "Get a picture of the place in your head, bastard," Naruto said softly. Sasuke pictured the house. Suddenly, he felt like invisible hands reach into his skin and pull. It wasn't painful, just an odd feeling. Just as fast as it began, it ended. He was standing in the soft grass covered in dew on his front lawn. Naruto let him go and he teetered for a moment. He had been running on adrenaline, and it was starting to wear off.

"SASUKE," Sakura yelled from her place on the stoop and came running towards him. Fuck no. He could not fend her off in this state, and the last thing he wanted was any kind of physical contact with her. He opened his mouth to say something only to loose sight of her because he was staring at Naruto's leather clad back. He blinked.

"Don't touch him," Naruto's voice was careful, devoid of emotion in only the way that the really old vampires could do. Sasuke wondered how old the other was. He realized he knew next to nothing about him. All he knew was that he had saved him from a death he would liked to have preferred. He heard, rather than saw, Sakura come to a stop a few feet away.

"Why not? What did you do to him? You're lucky we didn't kill you on sight," she snarled at him. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"I'd like to see you try to touch me," he said still carefully neutral. Sasuke stepped to the side to see her raising the petite handgun she carried everywhere with her. The bullets were silver. Not enough to kill any vampire, but enough to make them hurt between the gaining of the injury and their next waking.

"Sakura," his voice was cold. "Harm him, and I will kill you." He wasn't sure were the need to protect the other came from. He wanted to chalk it up to the fact that he was now on his way to becoming a vampire's servant, and the mark was controlling his emotions, but couldn't. He's felt this way before he got the mark. He had stepped in front of a crossbow bolt for the other, taken a fatal shot. He had done it knowing nothing other than the fact he was a vampire. What the hell was wrong with him? Sakura looked from the vampire to him and back again.

"Sasuke, are you sure you're ok?" she asked eyeing the area where he had been hit. He nodded and she lowered the gun, but didn't put it away. He walked forward, Naruto keeping pace till he reached the door. Sakura went in and watched them from the hallway. Sasuke turned and looked at the vampire on his doorstep. He bit his lip. He knew that vampires were not allowed into your home without your permission, and he was reluctant to give it even if the other was his 'master'. Naruto just sighed.

"Look, there may be some side effects to the mark other than the obvious," Sasuke nodded his understanding. Naruto, it seemed, was not happy with the situation either. "I'll come back tomorrow at sundown. We need to talk." Naruto turned on his heel and disappeared in a blast of warm wind that caressed Sasuke's face. He walked inside, and watched Sakura's eyes widen.

"Sasuke-kun, what happened to your eyes?" Ah, fuck.

* * *

Review responses: Look I'm responding to reviewers!

CloudyEros: I'm glad you felt the need to review. Even if it was only an exclamation. Just tell me, was it good or bad?

Shinigami - Momo : Here's your update and I'm glad you like it. Let me know if this was up to par.

narutovixen: I miss both Angel and Buffy too. tears I hope I'm doing an ok job of bringing the two together. I know they seem really excepting here, but it's mostly the product of the adrenaline. Next chapter will be more of, holy crap I'm attached to a bloody vampire! lol.

angel61991: Look! I updated.

Kai: Yep. They just left her there. Or rather Gaara did. He did not see the point in bringing her along. That and teleporting requires physical touch. How was he supposed to grab onto her?

cfox: I'm glad you like it. I'm a big Anita Blake fan, and I find the world fascinating. Of course the shading has gotten a little darker with the reveal about just what Sasuke is. Of course that's not really true either, as we'll soon see. And tell me, am I still up to par? And can you figure out who else's work I'm blending in here?

Ichihime: I've only touched on Sasuke's reaction here. There will be more next chapter. Especially since we'll be getting to know their pasts a little bit. Oh, and FYI, I haven't forgotten SF, the next chapter was half written when this hit. Stupid Halloween plot bunnies...grrr...

On a side note, I suggest everyone listen to Amaranth by Nightwish. I'll be using a lot of their music to open this. And let me know if you have any questions or if you want a picture of Sasuke's car.

Maurelle


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: This chapter came off as a little long, but I just could not break it off into two. But I did break it into parts so you could come back it it if you needed to. So, please forgive the length and enjoy.

You believe but what you see?

You receive but what you give?

_Amaranth_ by Nightwish

Sasuke had never been happier to see the dark blue of his bedspread in his life. He had been home two hours. Of those two hours he spent a majority being questioned and checked over. It didn't help that Sakura was determined that the blonde had somehow messed with his mind. She had been reluctant to let him out of her sight. It had taken Shikamaru, who had finally noticed something other than the fact that he was getting new mail from the FBI database (vampires were consider to be citizens of the United States, but not of the states themselves. Therefore, all cases involving them were handled by the FBI), telling her that he would be getting in contact with the local necromancer, and have him over, in order for her to let Sasuke get some sleep. He tossed his shirt over his head, cleanly hitting the hamper at the other end of the room. His pants followed as he wandered over to the chest of drawers against the wall. He pulled out a pair of black sweat pants and tugged them on, before collapsing on the bed. He did not even bother with the covers, and was out like a light.

* * *

Sasuke stood in the middle of a black room. It was round, with no windows or doors. The floor was made of a black marble with small white flecks in it. His eyes adjusted and he frowned. He could just make out objects due to the fact that they were all varying shades of black, or as varying as the color could get. The room was furnished in a style that reminded him of a movie he had once seen of one of Shakespeare's works. The centerpiece to the room, however, seemed to be a large for poster bed, which he could barely make out because of the hangings. Curious, and aware that he was dreaming, he reached forward to have his hand pass through the hangings as though he were a ghost. He heard the sound of a door opening and closing. He whipped around and found himself looking at Naruto. His blue eyes glowed in the dark, his overly bright coloring sticking out like a sore thumb in the dark room.

"Master," his voice was soft, something that Sasuke had never heard from him. He heard shifting on the bed and the curtains parted. A pale hand was seen, glowing like it's own light followed by the naked body of a man, just taller than Naruto. His own eyes were where a deep royal blue, and if one did not know better they would mistake him for the other's brother for their hair color was exactly the same. A cruel smile graced his lips as he beckoned Naruto closer. He came, and knelt at the man's, no vampire's, feet. One hand snaked out and curled in the gold locks; a parody of a loving motion.

"Naruto, Naruto," he said, his voice deep. He sounded as though he was a parent reluctantly scolding a naughty child. "What ever shall I do with thee?" Naruto said nothing, letting the other hug him to himself. "I've heard, from a little birdy, that you have taken a slayer as a lover. Tsk, tsk." Naruto stiffened at the words, though his face was blank as when he had walked in. "How ever should I punish thee?" His voice was light, as though he were merely thinking aloud. He continued to caress the locks like Naruto was nothing more than some cat he was petting. "I think time in the box is needed. A month mayhap?" He jerked the other up by the hair. Sasuke could only tell it hurt because of the slight tightening of his eyes at the corners. He made no sound, and remained in the position the other vampire had dragged him into, spine bowed backwards, head at an odd angle. "But what about your lover? That foolish boy," he growled the term, "That dared to touch what is mine. MINE."

At his screech the door opened again and another figure was thrown in. He was pale, but not to the degree of the vampire, and too was unclothed. Blood, both fresh and old, covered his body. He moaned on the floor from the pain. He opened eyes the color of charcoal and tried to sit up.

"Na'uto," he said weakly. The taller vampire laughed, loosening his grip on the blonde's hair.

"You have wonderful taste, Naruto. Shames to let a feast like this go to waste, though. What do you say to me ending the poor thing's suffering?" his voice was like poisoned silk. Sasuke found himself almost nodding along with his decision. He admired the fact that Naruto did nothing. He neither agreed nor disagreed. Sometimes that was the only rebellion you could give. There were people and creatures out there so powerful that even that little act of rebellion could get you killed. The naked vampire's grin became a full out smile as he stalked toward the now terrrified man on the floor. He made it only steps before Naruto's voice rang out.

"Wait," it was that carefully neutral voice that he had used earlier when confronting Sakura. Now knowing were it was used, Sasuke hoped to never hear it again. "Let him live," his voice was so quiet as he said it that Sasuke had to strain to hear it. "Let him live and I'll do it. I'll go willingly to your bed for the night." Naruto's entire body trembled as those words came out of his mouth. The look of horror on the man's face was enough to give Sasuke some idea of what his promise would entail. The other vampire turned toward him running one hand down Naruto's cheek. Cheeks that were missing something.

"In my bed? Willingly? Oh my, Naruto, that is just too much to pass up. But I can't let the little thing get away scot free. Hmmm," he stroked Naruto as he thought; Naruto's face still painfully neutral. "I have an idea. Why don't we give him a show? A little taste of what he will be missing, hmm?" As he spoke, he forced Naruto back onto his knees. To Sasuke's horror he realized that the other had become aroused during the conversation, as though the idea of killing the other was erotic. He choked as he watched him guide Naruto's head towards it. Suddenly, he stopped. "You said willing, Naruto." Naruto nodded and Sasuke shivered struggling against the dream. Goddamn it, he wanted out. He began trying to open the door, snarling as his hand passed through the doorknob. He turned as he heard a scream. Naruto knelt with his back to him as the other vampire let out a howl of pain. He shoved Naruto away, and Sasuke caught a glimpse of blood all over his front, some of it staining Naruto's gold clothes. The other vampire moved so he had a hold of the man on the floor. He raised him by the neck and a sick snapping noise was heard as he broke the neck.

Naruto was on him before the body hit the floor. The warm breeze that Sasuke remembered from earlier became gale force, only instead of the smell of a forest after rain, it smelt of burning. He watched as Naruto shoved his hand through the other vampire's solar plex, the taller not even stopping as he used his hands to scratch three thin lines on the other's cheeks. Naruto swung his arm and the older vampire slid off with a wet pop, hitting a chair and desk that had been against the wall. Naruto began licking the blood off his hand and arm as he drew closer to the fallen vampire. Fearing, now, the injured vampire summoned his own power, a muted blue wind that shown, unlike the deep purple of Naruto's that blended into the darkness. He shoved it at Naruto and his own power absorbed it. Naruto began laughing as he grabbed the other by the neck. He brought their faces close enough that their noses were almost touching.

"I think it's time for you to die," his voice was a deep growl that came from somewhere in the back of his throat. It was the voice of a predator. The other vampire whimpered as Naruto used his thumb to tilt his head, and thing fangs slid into the artery hiding just under the skin.

* * *

Sasuke woke sitting straight up in bed and covered in a cold sweat. The pounding behind his eyes was worse than before. He put his head in his hands. Why the hell was he seeing that _thing's_ memories? Was this the other side effect he was talking about? He groaned and looked at the clock next to his bed. It was four in the afternoon. He should be getting out of bed anyway. He stood and made his way to the attached bathroom, mind set on getting a shower and some Advil.

* * *

Naruto returned to the hotel room as the sun was just beginning to lighten the sky. He stuck the little plastic card into the slot and opened the door after hearing the click. He noted that Gaara was already out on the other bed. Naruto had enough power that if he was forced to he could fight the rest and stay awake during the day. But it was a drain on his powers to do things that way, and his power was already down. He hadn't been lying when he said he was not good at teleportation. Things tended to drain him more because he when not good at them. He made sure the blinds were closed. Just because he could stay awake did not void sunlight's affect on him.

He hit the small turn around in bathroom before bed, washing the make-up from his face. He unhooked the buckles on his shirt and threw it over the bar that served as a closet in the hotel room, sliding his pants off and over the bar as well. He pulled a pair of orange silk boxers from the suitcase next to his on, and crawled under the covers. He would be in need of a feed tomorrow night. He was in the sleep-like state that vampires called resting before the sun was fully in the sky.

* * *

Naruto knew that he was dreaming the second that it began. It was rare for vampires to see anything during their resting. So he knew. He looked at his surroundings in mild curiosity, noting that it was towards the evening in what smelt to be early autumn. He was standing outside a large housing compound that looked distinctly Asian in design. He stood and waited aware that he could do nothing until whoever this memory belonged to showed up. He watched a small figure run up the hill, and he was smiling before he could help himself. It was Sasuke, a younger one, but Sasuke nonetheless. The smile slid off his face as he saw the expression on his face. It was worried. He gripped the latch that held the gate closed and it unlocked with a small snap. It seemed as though they had some magical protection for the house. He stepped inside, and Naruto blinked at the lack of sound. In a compound this big there should've been a constant low buzz of noise.

He followed the younger version of his new servant down the dirt path inbetween buildings, a frown on his face. Where was everyone? It seemed that the other had the same thoughts in mind, for he began moving faster, and calling out.

"Mom? Dad? Brother? Baa-chan?" his voice was so small in the large confines of the compound's silence. Naruto had to suppress the urge to reach out and hold him. He knew that he would just sink through him. It did not help the sick feeling in his gut, however. They turned a sharp corner and found themselves in what appeared to be the central courtyard. The stench of fresh spilt blood and other exposed body fluids was overpowering. Bodies lay were they had fallen, mangled in heaps or by themselves. He watched as Sasuke retched and vomited. He began crying as the fact that these were his relatives seemed to hit. He began to panic, turning over corpses in a quest to make sure that they were not his parents or his brother, occasionally dry heaving at a particularly gruesome body.

Eventually, he gave up and walked up the steps toward what was the main temple of the place. He had long since cried himself out, the tear tracks like stains on his young face. Naruto was enraged at whoever had done this to him. He was just a child. No child deserved to have his family taken from him, let alone like this. Sasuke stopped before a pair of double doors, the smell of dark magic making Naruto's nose itch with the need to sneeze. He saw him push against the doors and they slid open with a grace that could only be magic. The room was shaped like an inverted octagon, a long red line connecting each of the points to make and eight-pointed star. He heard the sharp intake of breath as Sasuke caught sight of the two bodies in the middle of the floor.

"MOM! DAD!" he began to try to run towards them, only to be thrown back by the barrier that the star created. He began dry sobbing, his body no longer able to produce tears. A low chuckle began and Naruto turned towards it, attitude that of protection despite the fact that this was a memory and something that had already happened. A figure came into the dim light. He looked to be an older version of the boy Naruto had stepped infront of. He was covered in blood and grinning in a way that was too close to someone from Naruto's own memories. "Brother?" Sasuke said walk through Naruto. Naruto growled in frustration. He wanted to save the other from this.

"Hello, little brother," his voice was blank, a droning monotone. The younger seemed to realize that something was not right with his brother.

"What happened?" he asked starting to back away as his brother approached. Itachi looked unconcerned with his brother's fear.

"I killed them," he said it like he was simply stating the fact that it was a little cooler outside than yesterday. Sasuke began to tremble, while Naruto began growling low in his throat, unaware of the sound echoing off the walls.

"Wha…? Why?" Sasuke's voice was quiet as though he was having trouble wrapping his mind around the idea. He kept backing up though, until he hit the magic of the barrier.

"Because it's what we are, foolish little brother. We are necromancers. We are the bringers of death. Our family couldn't see that, so I showed them. Showed them in their glorious deaths. And know I have to only finish the job," power began to surround him as he spoke, his eyes taking on the red color that Naruto remembered from the night before. He stood between the two again, well aware that it would provide no protection, but feeling he had to do something. He had vowed long ago to never stand passive again while someone he cared for was being hurt.

Sasuke dodged the first strike of the seeking power on pure luck, seeming to loose his fear and sadness. He face contorted in anger, and like an explosion power coursed through him. It was a deep red, almost black color, and knocked the other off his feet. He lifted his head and Naruto shivered. There was nothing but blind rage on his face. He stepped toward his brother, swatting the power he was shooting at him to the side like it was nothing but an annoyance. He sent his power, seeking, for his brother. He screamed when it touched him, the smell of burning flesh overpowering. Blood began falling on the floor from the wounds that were opening only to be cauterized by the heat seconds later. Suddenly, the other began laughing, causing Sasuke to tilt his head to the side in curiosity.

"You're just like me, little brother. When I die you will be just like me," he continued laughing as realization dawned on the younger's face. He threw him with the power, his body hitting one of the corners with a sick crunching sound and his laughter cut off. Sasuke let out a howl of pure pain, and his power sucked back into him like it had never been.

"No. I'll never be like you," he said he eyes having returned to normal, and collapsing on the floor of the room.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, trying to process what he had seen. No wonder the other had wanted to die rather than bring his powers to the surface. The only time he had used them, he had killed his brother. Granted it had been an extreme situation, but what little kid could truly understood that? He rose and shook Gaara to bring him out of his own rest, before heading to the sink to wash his face. They were going to have a lot to talk about this evening. He would likely have to stop by one of the clinics for his feed. They were created for new or accidental vampires, and were places were you could get a feed for free. The only thing was, the feeds were mostly vampire junkies, people who had gotten addicted to the pleasure they could feel during the bite. Those people sickened him, but he knew the chance of getting a feed off Sasuke was not high, and he wouldn't have time to seduce someone this evening. It looked like this was going to be another long night.

* * *

a/n: I've never had so many reviews before. I'm so very happy! (runs around jumping for joy).

Ichihime: Of course Sasuke would rather die. He sees his powers as linked to becoming his brother. I'm glad you like the bond. Naruto is just over 900 years old. The above event took place in the 1400s, when he was 300.

Shadow Eclipse: I'm glad you like and here's the update.

shriilyle: (Squeee!) I got compared to FastFoward! (dances for joy) I loved her vampire fic even if it made me cry. The end was so sad. Here's your next chapter.

DarkMiko13: Sasuke's not a vampire, he's a necromancer. They are kind of like mages that have dominion over the dead. Vampires saw them as threats for a period and tried to kill them all, and they tried to make them into human servants. The only thing is by making them human servants they gave them a deeper connection with the dead. Naruto just sort of made Sasuke more powerful, and forced his powers to the surface. And as for Naruto being seme, he's trying not to scare Sasuke away. Because he only has the first mark, he could sort of just put distance between the two and be done with it.

psalmofsummer: I'm very glad you like it and think things are coming together. I hope this chapter explains what happened to Itachi well enough.

CloudyEros: You spoke! (laughs). I'm glad that it was a good oh, and you liked last chapter. I think I will be updating this pretty fast, so I hope the wait is not too long.

MissTeya: Thank you and hope you enjoyed the chapter.

ButterCat: I love this too. I'm glad I decided to post this. I almost didn't. lol. Thanks for the review.

Kai: When I said physical contact I meant skin on skin, but the image you gave me had be chuckling like made and getting glared at by my roomate. She thought I had finally lost what little mind I had. I agree that her obsession with Sasuke is annoying. What part of no does she not understand? And yes the other guy was Kankuro. You did not just expect him to have Temari and not Kankuro either, ne? Kiba is a tracker. Koodoos for getting that one. Naruto doesn't know him though. He's never in one place very long, because he would either have to challenge the current Lord of the City or submit to him and he won't do either. The Hyuugas will definately be here. I'll leave how for later though. I can't believe someone would not answer a reviewer's questions. The idea is to clarify and make sure people are understanding things. I am honored by taking your longest review to date.

Mikra: Glad you like it and I'm busy writting my ass off, so hopefully I will update soon.

cologate.advanced.fresh.: Glad you think it's great. And yes, VAMPIRES! WOO! (happy dance).


	4. Chapter 4

Caress the one, the never-fading

rain in your heart - the tears of snow-white sorrow

Caress the one, the hiding amaranth(1)

In a land of the daybreak

_Amaranth_ by Nightwish

Kabuto stood next to his master in the large red office, facing the large television screen in front of him. He wore an expensive business suit in a muted purple, his master's color, and his master wore a dark blue one. He looked both elegant and lazy sitting as he was, one leg over the arm of the chair, a glass of deep red wine in one hand. Naturally, the wine was nothing more than a taste, having no food value. The master had been summoned from his rest three hours early to meet with the vampire on the other end of the conference call. It was a member of the American Council and he looked pissed. Something must really have gone wrong for Kabuto to be able to tell what the other was feeling.

"You have _them_ in your territory and you send a single human servant and a crossbow after them? Have the years left you senile, Orochimaru?" his tone was condescending. Kabuto had to suppress his need to defend his master. Orochimaru sat there looking unconcerned.

"I thought the Council's wish was to merely chase them until they relented, and bound themselves to someone," Orochimaru was a Lord of the City, all vampires that lived in the city owed him allegiance. Vampire society was very much structured like the feudal system of the Middle Ages. Only they had blood and magic to force the obedience of their underlings. The vampire on screen narrowed his gray eyes.

"That was before the European Council and _she_ took an interest. Now they are becoming a liability. Even more of one if the rumors are true," he said hands folded in front of like he was thinking. Orochimaru frowned. He did not like the idea that some bastard hundreds of miles away could know what was going on in his city before him. But his face betrayed nothing as he tilted his head in a gesture for the other to go on. "Rumor has it that the last Uchiha has awoken. Not only that, but he has bound himself to the Kyuubi," he seemed smug watching the brief flicker of rage moved across his face.

"Please, they are merely rumors, nothing more," he said and the councilman nodded. "If we are done?" The man nodded, and the screen went black. Orochimaru stood, rage coming off him in waves. He had taken an interest in this hellhole of a city purely because of the fact that the Uchiha was here. He knew that the slayer would bring immense power to however he chose to let mark him, and had spent years trying to recruit him to only be met with refusal. What had that annoying blonde offered him that he had not? What?

"Kabuto," he spoke, voice a low hiss. "I want to know if those rumors are true, but more than that, I want to know who is feeding the council information. I want both Shukaku and Kyuubi dead within the week. Send trackers after him if you have to." He wanted them out of the picture, and he wanted them out fast. He could still have Sasuke as long as the second mark had not been given.

* * *

Naruto watched Sasuke as he performed the moves of the complex kata with the grace of a predatory cat. He was leaning against the door jam to the private dojo in Sasuke's home. Sakura had been kind enough to let him inside even if she hadn't been happy about it. So he stood were he was, watching his human servant, who was clad only in a pair of loose black pants that allowed for ease of movement, finish his routine. Naruto was no where near as tactless as he would like people to think. He knew that interrupting the other's training was not only rude, but likely to make it so that he would not say much more than two words to him. That and Naruto had once been a soldier himself and knew how cathartic the training could be. It also helped that Sasuke looked absolutely beautiful as he moved. Naruto had nothing against enjoying the show the other was giving him. 

Sasuke sensed Naruto's presence the moment he had touched his property. He knew it had more to do with his own powers as a necromancer than the mark that he had been given. When he had arrived just outside the room it had taken an effort of will not to turn around and look at him. So he continued the flow of movements, allowing his body to remember while his mind wandered. His headache had not gone away and he was thinking of asking Sakura to take a look at it. She was not a magical healer, but she had a background in the medical arts. Frankly, the only thing stopping him from going to her was the fact that he was loathe to let her touch him. She always lingered over long and it annoyed him to no end. He stilled his movements as he came to the finishing pose. He lifted his head and found himself caught in electric blue eyes. He blinked and found himself inches away from Naruto. He backed up and motioned for the other to join him.

"Can we have a go?" Naruto asked wanting to fully see just how good the other was at fighting. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him from where he had been wiping his face with a towel on a small bench. He noted the fact that Naruto had the good grace to have removed his footwear before coming anywhere near his dojo, but put it up to the fact that he had Sakura well trained when it came to his dojo. She had probably forced the other to take them off before he could leave the foyer.

"Are you serious?" Sasuke asked. It was a well known fact that while vampires were stronger and harder to injure than normal humans, they did not normally learn how to fight. It was considered impolite and a sign of being weak to be able to fight. You were supposed to be powerful enough to just roll the mind of what ever measly mortal was bugging you, not fight them. Most vampires, if forced into a situation were they would have to fight, relied on brute force. Sasuke was not sure what to make of the request. He had fought vampires before for his profession, but the idea of doing something like that for fun just did not seem to click.

"Very," Naruto said removing the orange T-shirt he had thrown on when he had gotten out of the shower. It left him clad in only a pair of dark blue jeans held up by a thin black belt. Even Sasuke had to admit that he looked good. He was toned in a way that he knew meant that whatever profession he had had before his turning it had required him to be in shape. Naruto smirked as he watched the other admiring him. "I'm not completely useless in a fight. Gaara and I had to learn how to defend ourselves very fast." Sasuke nods and places the towel on the bench. He crosses the floor and slides into the ready stance of Krav Maga. While he had learned the more traditional forms of martial arts, he found the Israeli no nonsense Krav Maga much more effective against the brute strength of vampires.

Naruto watched him shift into the stance and launched himself at him. It was not a full burst of speed, he wanted to see that the other could truly handle himself not hurt him. Sasuke saw his hands reach for his neck and calmly brought both arms up inbetween the other's, separating them. He had to fight the shiver that ran up his spine when the skin made contact. Perhaps, they should fight more often. He could see how his body's reaction to Naruto's could be distracting in a real fight. He knew that Naruto was not going full out and it irritated him. He had fought vampires that had seen a time before the plow. If he couldn't handle the speed he would not be here. He griped both of Naruto's wrists, as the other tried to slide out of the hold, and used his forward momentum to throw him over his shoulder. He turned quickly and landed a solid kick on his chest as he rose.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as Sasuke returned to his opening stance like nothing had happened. Sasuke did not look very strong, but he knew that in some martial arts it was not the strength of the user that mattered. Naruto just grinned and decided to let loose a little. It had been a long time since he had a truly good fight. He punched forward, aiming at Sasuke's head to have him tilt it to the side out of reach. He was waiting for it and kicked the side he had titled away, sending him to the floor. He was on him in an instant, trying to get his arms pinned. Sasuke retaliated with a vicious jab to the throat that gave him enough of an advantage to flip them over. Naruto, however, was not one to be underestimated, and he grabbed Sasuke's hip with one hand, and fended him off with the other. He pulled him to the side and used the momentum to land on top. He pinned the other's hands under his back as he moved and grinned. He could feel the oddest heat from where he was touching the other. Both were panting.

"I win, sunshine," Naruto said grinning like the cat that had caught the canary. Sasuke glared at him. He hated feeling helpless, which was what he was feeling now. What was worse was the electricity he felt coming from where Naruto was holding his wrists and his side brushed his arm.

"Let me up, Naruto," he said his voice an unhappy growl. Naruto meanwhile was enjoying the brunette beneath him. He painted a picture that had little to do with fighting. He was sitting between Sasuke's legs, right hand holding the other's hands under him, left holding his hip to keep him from bucking up. He began to regret feeding as he felt the blood in his veins go rushing south. Before he realized what he was doing, he was nuzzling the other's neck, right where the main artery met the skin. The feel of contact was delightful, and he did not notice the fact that the other had stopped moving completely.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke meant for it to come out harsh, but instead it was soft and just slightly breathless. He blamed it on the feel of electricity dancing in his veins and pooling in his stomach. He was freaking out slightly. There was a vampire nuzzling his neck and he was letting him do it. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? Naruto had stopped and was now watching the confusion in the other's eyes. He looked so cute, pinned there and bewildered. He reached down and brushed his lips against his. It was like the night before, when they had locked eyes. Naruto could feel himself melting into the other only to stop as he hit Sasuke's inner barriers. Surface emotions brushed past him. Sasuke was confused, but enjoying the kiss. As a matter of fact, Naruto could feel him kissing back like a distant echo.

Sasuke had panicked when he felt the other kissing him. It was pure instinct. But seconds later, he felt himself merging like before. He could feel Naruto's attraction towards him, and the fact that he had no intention of hurting him. It was this that had him tentatively kissing back, barely moving his lips against the other's. It helped that he could feel that same electricity running down his body. It was wonderful. Naruto felt his surrender and grinned into the kiss, running his tongue across the other's lips in request. Sasuke opened them slightly, and Naruto plunged his tongue in, taking what was his. Sasuke recognized the other's thought and bit down on his tongue harshly, causing Naruto to whimper and pull away.

"What was that about?" he hissed, mouth pouting. He had long since let go of the other's wrists, allowing Sasuke to sit up on his elbows. His glare had gotten harsher, and his eyes were narrowed in rage.

"I am not a _possession_," he snarled. He pushed Naruto off him and stood, rage rolling off him in carefully controlled waves. "I am a _person_." Naruto stood as well, anger hitting him. That was not what he had meant.

"I know that," he snapped stepping closer.

"Do you?" Sasuke said deadly calm. His anger was cold, while Naruto's was white hot.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto narrowed his own eyes, a small breeze brushing around them in warning. Sasuke ignored it.

"How do I know you're not just saying that? _You're not even human_," Sasuke said it without thinking, but he meant it. Naruto was a vampire, an undead creature held together by a magic barely understood. Naruto looked like he had been slapped. He rounded on Sasuke, backing him against the wall.

"You're right. I'm not," he placed one hand on either side of Sasuke's head. "But that doesn't mean I can't feel." His fangs were sitting just over his lips, and his eyes were glowing. He was beyond mad. He leaned until his entire body was against Sasuke's. "And guess what, Sasuke. For some god damned reason I feel for you," his words were hot breath in his ear. Sasuke shivered and closed his eyes. He found himself afraid to look at the hurt in those eyes, the pain he had caused. He felt a breeze pass over his skin and when he opened his eyes no one was there. What the hell had he just done? More importantly, why wasn't he dead?

He stood there for a few moments trying to work out what had happened before the bell rang. He had forgotten that Nara had arranged for the local necromancer to come over. He pushed Naruto to the back of his mind where he placed everything he could not safely categorize. He had to find a way to get his eyes back to normal. Hell, he wanted to go back to before this whole thing got started. He stalked down the hall and into the kitchen, where Sakura was making tea. She turned around and smiled happily at him.

"Sasuke-kun, Kakashi is here. I put him in the living room," she said looking behind him for the vampire. Sasuke just grunted and walked into the other room. She could wonder all she wanted. Kakashi sat on the couch looking around himself mildly interested. He was in his late 30s, with stark white hair and the habit of wearing both a mask and an eye patch. The reason behind the eye patch Sasuke knew, it was the mask that had always puzzled him.

"Kakashi," he said by way of greeting and the other man looked at him. He saw his single eye widen as he took in the fact that his power was shown in his eyes.

"So then it is true. I thought for sure Shikamaru was bluffing," Kakashi said as Sasuke sat at the other end of the couch. He gave his characteristic hn and looked straight ahead. Somehow he couldn't stop thinking about the blonde. Where had he gone in such a hurry? Why did he feel guilty? Should he apologize? "Earth to Sasuke. Come in Sasuke." Kakashi said waving his hand infront of Sasuke's eyes. He frowned and looked at the older man. "So is the other half of it true too?"

"Yes," Sasuke said figuring that he'd kill Nara later. He should not be giving out this kind of information on the phone.

"Ah. Do you know how to turn the sharingan off?" Kakashi asked. Kakashi had helped to raise Sasuke and knew that talking about the second half was not going to happen at the moment. He also knew why the other refused to use his powers, and had respected his choice in the matter. Sasuke shook his head and Kakashi sighed. "Okay, I need for you to imagine your core for a moment." Sasuke did as he said, seeing the bright white of his life energy. Only, now it had a deep blue streak through it. He felt like growling. He knew that this was the mark that Naruto had given him. That damned vampire. He wanted to pull his hair out thinking about him, but Kakashi was still talking. "Now, you should see a streak of another color, other than the vampire's." Sasuke did. It was a thicker streak of deep red, almost black. He nodded to show he had found it. "That streak is your power or a part of it anyway. I doubt that you can suppress it again. So, I want you to imagine a blanket or something covering it." Sasuke did as he was told and the glowing from the red streak dampened. He opened his eyes.

"Well?" he asked the man. He sighed.

"You can't see the tomoe anymore, and your eyes are darker, but they still have a red tint to them," Sasuke nodded resigned to his fate. He knew that he would never be able to seal off his power again.

"When can you start the teaching?" Sasuke asked feeling sullen. He was not happy. Kakashi smiled, or at least that was what Sasuke thought he was doing. Curse that mask to the twelfth hell and back.

"Why, right now," he said producing a bag from somewhere as Sakura came in with the tea.

* * *

Naruto opened the door to the room beyond angry. How dare he talk like he was something special just because he was human?! Humans were not the only ones with feelings, though he knew some thought that way. He had feelings, damnit. The door slammed against the wall and Naruto winced. The door had done nothing wrong. He looked inside and his rage was forgotten. The room looked like a bomb had gone off in it. He walked inside, and couldn't help but feel this was somewhat similar to what Sasuke had felt all those years ago. His felt his foot sink into sand and frowned. He had forgotten his shoes at Sasuke's, but what bothered him was the sand. Gaara's sand. It should either be with him or in the gourd, not lying on the floor. He heard a soft moan coming from where one of the beds was normally, and walked towards it, throwing off the drawer and scattered clothes that covered it. He found Temari laying on it, barely conscious. He left her there and began searching the room looking for either Gaara or Kankuro. 

"They're not here," Temari said so softly that had he not been a vampire he would not have heard it. He turned to her, concern marring his features.

"Where are they?" he asked coming back to here. Blood was leaking softly out of her mouth.

"They took them," she said, her eyes unfocusing as she was loosing the battle with staying conscious.

"Who?" he asked grabbing her hand. He would need to get her medical attention.

"The trackers."

* * *

(1) amaranth: a flower than in myth is seen to never fade or die.

CloudyEros: Unfortunately, I will not be able to update through Thanksgiving due to lack of internet. However, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I don't think you ramble...

colgate.advanced.fresh: I'm glad Sasuke managed to kill Itachi too. Though his memory still haunts his world. I'll be updating the week after Thanksgiving. I hope...

Ichihime: Yeah, their pasts suck. Sasuke has come to think of vampires as less than human so he can kill them.Unfortunately, this seems to be hampering his ability let Naruto in. Gaara and Naruto met each other shortly after Naruto killed his maker. Gaara had done the same and the two of them when on the run together. And because Sasuke only has the first mark he's not completely connected to Naruto. If he really wanted to he could move far away and never have to deal with him, because the mark can fade over distance. As to whether he is going to move again and if Sasuke is coming with him, we'll just have to see.

hiddeninplainview: I'm glad you like the plot line. Even though we've only touched the tip of this iceberg. I happen to like my Naruto too. He's playfully serious. lol. Next update after Thanksgiving.

shirilyle: I feel bad for their past too. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until after Thanksgiving for the next update. Sad, I know.

angel61991: Thanks for the review, and the next update will be after Thanksgiving.

cfox: I'm not sure about the carpathein series... I may not of read that one, but if you can point out what you think is form there, I'll be more than happy to see if it was from somewhere else. Glad you enjoyed the flashbacks...And next update will be after Thanksgiving.

kai: You're right. It's the other authors' loss. And the memories aren't too affecting here. It's more a glimpse into where they are coming form. Of course, it does subconsciously affect their actions. And there are addicts for everything. There are even creepy people in this world addicted to being bitten by different kinds of wer. They call it collecting. I'll be updating after Thanksgiving.

Kina-chan: Glad you like it! I'll be updating after Thanksgiving.


	5. Chapter 5

Apart from the wandering pack

In this brief flight of time we reach

For the ones, whoever dare

_Amaranth_ by Nightwish

Sasuke was glaring at the text on the page. He had been reading the same paragraph for the last five minutes. On top of his crazy headache, he had a buzzing in the back of his mind. He knew that the headache was because his body was rejecting Naruto's mark, all necromancers slowly began to reject the mark unless it was placed willingly or after the second mark. He had learned this from the book Kakashi had him reading. He was giving him a crash course in vampires and necromancers. He had also learned a little about true vampire culture, and one of the things that had come to light was the compulsive need to own. It was very much akin to a dragon's need to hoard. And like a dragon's need to hoard it had a purpose, at least when it came to people. Vampires were constantly under threat of loosing their humanity, or what little of it that they had left. Human servants were able to give a vampire a hold on their emotions that they would otherwise not have, but they could only give what they understood themselves. It was not a perfect system, but it had not been created to be one.

Sasuke put down the tome he had been reading as his cell phone rang. His eyes flicked to the digital clock over the mantel in his living room. It read just after nine p.m. Two hours since Naruto had left, an hour since Kakashi had taken his leave. He rose from the over stuffed leather couch that he had been sitting at and looked at the caller ID. The name was blocked, but he recognized the first three numbers after the area code as belonging to the police department. He picked up the phone already looking for his car keys.

"Uchiha," Sasuke said into the phone. He could hear some kind of crowd in the background.

"Hyuuga," a gruff voice said from the other end of the phone. Sasuke sighed. Neji Hyuuga was the head of the local branch of Supernatural Affairs or SNA. He worked as a liaison between the police and members of the supernatural community. There was only one reason why he would be calling Sasuke, as he was unaware of the fact that he had awakened his necromancer abilities, and that was if the police had a vampire in custody. "I need to get down here to St. Jonah Medical. We've got a vampire under Tracker watch, but I want your opinion before we let them loose."

"I'll be there in fifteen," Sasuke said hanging up. Sakura had come in, hearing the phone, and was looking at him. He sighed and moved to go around her. "I have to go to the hospital. See if you can have Nara meet me there." She nodded to show she understood. She had worked with him long enough to know that regardless of how much she wanted to go with him, he would not let her. He may not feel the same for her that she felt for him, but he still did not want her in danger.

Sasuke grabbed his car keys from the small table next to the door that Sakura had placed there for that purpose. It never seized to amaze him how thoroughly she had invaded his home. It had started as nothing but something for convenience, largely because he was never home, and he needed someone to clean and cook. She had known what his life was from the beginning, and it had never bothered her. No, she had seemed to fall in love with the romance of it. It was something that she could never let go of, even seeing how he came home injured more often than not, even after she had seen what a board vampire could do to an unsuspecting human. He shook his head as he opened the door. It was a good thing that she listened to him when he said that he was no interested in training her. He taught her enough to defend herself, but nothing else. She was safer that way.

He blinked as he stood in the walk, there was another car in his driveway. It was a light purple SUV that he knew belonged to one person he did not want to see. The door opened, and his glare grew colder as he saw Kabuto's face. He may be somewhat mad at Naruto (okay he was more confused than anything else at the moment), but he had never liked Kabuto and his master. The second that the vampire became master of the city, he had begun trying to get Sasuke to agree to join his forces, with the ultimate goal of making him his human servant. The very idea made his skin crawl. The vampire was not sane. Well, he was more of a somewhat tame sociopath, but he was distinctly disturbed. Kabuto approached him, eyes flicking from side to side behind his glasses in a nervous twitch. He stopped just out of reach.

"Uchiha-san," he said formally. The two of them were from Japan, and, as such, had stuck to some of the formality quirks. Sasuke inclined his head to show that he was listening. He did not have time for this, but he knew better than to offend the head vampire in the city. "I have heard of your particular… circumstances," Sasuke made a note to kill Shikamaru the first time he saw him. He knew that somehow this had leaked from the telephone call.

"What do you want?" Sasuke said walking past him and wondering how he could get around his parked car. Kabuto got more nervous at the tone in his voice.

"I'm here because Orochimaru wants to make you an offer," Sasuke raised an eyebrow and leaned against his black Lexus. "He can remove the mark." Sasuke couldn't help the bit of hope that came with those words. He would like nothing more than to have this whole thing over.

"Oh?" he asked liking the fact that his voice betrayed nothing of his hope. Kabuto seemed to gain confidence with his interest.

"Yes, but it will require a couple of things. One, he will have to mark over the other mark, and two, he will have to kill him," Kabuto said believing that he had him. There was no way in his mind that Sasuke would trade the evil he knew, Orochimaru, for the unknown of the Kyuubi. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He was not stupid. He could see through the ploy. It irritated him that either one of them would think him stupid enough to jump at that chance. He knew how crazy Orochimaru was, he had seen into Naruto's mind, and knew that for all his faults he at least was not crazy or interested in his power.

"Tell Orochimaru to go screw himself," Sasuke said opening the car door and getting in. He rolled down the dark tinted window, and glared at the gaping Kabuto. "You have ten seconds to move before I mow it over." Kabuto scrambled to get in his own car and move.

* * *

Sasuke entered the hospital from the ER. He ignored the various injured that sat in the waiting room and walked up to the desk. The woman behind it was older with a stern face as she looked at him. Seeing no obvious wounds, a frown creased her face. Perhaps he was there to see someone and had gotten lost? Surely, he wasn't the man that was here for that _thing_.

"Can I help you?" she asked as sweetly as she could. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He knew her type. They were part of the older generation and saw all people with magical abilities as freaks. He pulled out the hunting license from his back pocket. The things the government would do to try to gain control over things. Honestly, vampire hunting licenses? What were they going to come up with next? A hunting season? He suppressed the smirk at the thought and showed the woman the little piece of plastic. She looked up at him disgusted. He did not care as long as she pointed him in the direction of the containment ward. "Third door on your left." Her voice was cold enough to freeze salt water.

He nodded and began walking down the sterile white corridor. He hated hospitals. It wasn't just the smell and thought of the injuries that were being treated that unnerved him. No, it was the sense of death that hung over the place like a funeral shroud. The newly dead were like a ghostly prickle over his skin. Before the mark it had been a soft tickle, only present if he thought about it. Now, he could feel it constantly sliding against his skin, as though it were trying to tempt him into using his powers. He stopped at the indicated door and knocked. The door was made of reinforced steel and they had not bothered to paint over it. The door opened and he found himself looking into the impassive face of Neji Hyuuga. The man was tall, a good 3 inches more than he was, and thin. He wore a dark business suit that clashed with his long black hair that any woman would die for. It was his eyes, however, that denoted him as belonging to the magical community. They were pupil-less and ivory colored. Most people found it beyond unnerving to look at. Sasuke just saw them as a genetic quirk, having spent the early years of his life surrounded by people with red eyes and tomoe. However, unlike his family, their power lied not with the dead, but with living. They could read any living creature's emotions with nothing put a glance.

"About time you showed up. Do you have any idea what I'm sitting on here?" Neji opened the door and motioned Sasuke inside. Sasuke followed silently. Neji was clearly both nervous and annoyed. "He showed up about 45 minutes ago with an injured woman in his arms. He was lucky that the staff did immediately recognize him as a vampire. They would've staked him on sight." Neji motioned to the figure sitting in another room connected to theirs. It was made with an inner layer of iron due to the fact that some makes could not be used in the presence of iron, and reinforced by a layer of steel to keep whatever was in, in. There was a one-way window in the wall, giving the people in the first room the ability to watch what the other was doing. Sasuke looked into the window and felt dread settle in his stomach. Tied to a chair in the other room was Naruto. He was bent forward as far as the ropes would allow, not having the energy to keep himself upright due to the other two people in the room. Both were male and hardly normal looking. One had outrageous brown hair that spiked everywhere and two red upside-down triangles on his cheeks. His eyes were closed, but Sasuke knew that if he opened them they would be more like those of a wolf than a man. The other was covered completely by a pair of black jeans and a hoodie, the hood up and the high collar covered the lower half oh his face. Sasuke felt the same surge of protectiveness as before at the club roll over him. He turned to Neji and glared at him, making the other man back up.

"Get them out of there. NOW," Sasuke's voice was harsh and had the Hyuuga complying before he could think about it. The door opened and he motioned the two trackers out of the room. Before Neji could protest, Sasuke was in the room, moving toward the blonde. Naruto felt him the second he came into the room and put effort into tilting his head up. He smirked slightly at the rage that was in the other's eyes.

"Miss me?" he asked wincing as it took more energy than it should to say that. Sasuke was next to him in an instant, a small knife out so he could cut the bindings off.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Naruto," he said simply. He noted the fact that Neji had entered the room and was watching him silently. He knew that the only reason Neji had told the trackers to leave was because he trusted him. He had to reassure him that the trust was not misplaced. Naruto flexed his arms, stiff from holding the same position for so long. He leaned back in the chair and smiled.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know, but first I need you to either share some of the power that's coming off you in waves, or a feed. Take your pick, cause I'm low enough at the moment that I can feel the Lust coming," Naruto said closing his eyes. The Lust referred to the blood lust that all vampires could go into gain the power needed to survive. Vampires who were fully taken with the Lust went berserk and took a temporary leave of their senses. Sasuke wanted neither to happen at the moment. He weighed the two options and decided that he was comfortable at all with the idea of him biting him, so sharing power it was. He knew how to do it, he had read that chapter in the book. Sighing he reached out and put his hand on the back of Naruto's neck. The touch was like electricity, and brought his headache roaring to the front of his mind. He ignored it and concentrated on removing enough of the 'blanket' over his powers so he could force it into Naruto.

Naruto leaned back into the touch and closed his eyes enjoying the warm prickling sensation that was Sasuke's power. Using the direct method that Sasuke was opened his mind to him. Naruto, however, now knew better than to either delve too deep or show him what he was thinking. Especially, since at the moment it was largely about the fact that he looked really good in a pair of dark blue jeans and a red shirt that hugged his frame nicely. He grinned as he thought about it, before frowning as he came across something in the other's surface thoughts.

"You're in pain," Naruto said ignoring the fact that they had company. He felt Sasuke tense as he pulled back, enough power having been shared to stave off the Lust. Naruto opened his eyes and found himself looking at an angry Sasuke. Sasuke was frowning at him and looking slightly drained. Neji was still watching in the background, but neither of the two seemed to care. Naruto just watched as Sasuke seemed to think about a reply.

"I am," he acknowledged. Now it was Naruto's turn to frown. Sasuke cut him off before he could ask why. "I want to know why you're here, Naruto." There was command in his voice as he said it and as much as Naruto would've liked to keep quiet just to spite him, he had to talk. Sasuke may have been his human servant, but he knew that because he was a necromancer, certain things would be flipped around. He glared pointedly at his nose as he spoke.

"After I left your place," he ignored Neji's raised eyebrow, "I went back to the hotel room. The place was totally trashed. It looked like a bomb had gone off while I was gone. I looked around the place and came across Temari, who was badly injured. She's the one I brought here," he said showing concern at the mention of Gaara's human servant. Sasuke's mind was working fast as he thought about what he had been told.

"Where's Gaara?" he asked the frown setting deeper into his features. Naruto sighed and looked at him.

"I don't know. All I managed to get out of Temari was that the trackers took him and Kankuro, but I doubt that they are the same trackers sitting outside," Naruto said as Sasuke's eyes flicked to the two standing just outside the room. Neji, however, was frowning. He disliked the way the two were interacting. It did not fit Sasuke's normal way of doing things with a vampire. Not to mention he had caught that bit about being at Sasuke's house. He knew Sasuke, and he knew Sasuke's paranoia when it came to his work. He did not question it though as Sasuke turned towards him and he could see the sharingan. It helped to confirm why he trusted the vampire. No member of the dead could lie to a true necromancer, a true lord of the dead.

"Damnit," Sasuke said as things began to click in his mind; the earlier visit from Kabuto and what had happened. It was clear in his head now. Orochimaru had sent some rogue trackers after Naruto, because of the fact that he had somehow found out about the mark, only the trackers had found Gaara. They had taken Gaara as both a warning and bait. He locked eyes with Naruto. A shiver went down his spine as he realized that he was meeting his gaze for the first time without any of the crazy affects they normally had. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. He opened his mouth to say what he knew, only to have Naruto cut him off.

"So where do I find this Orochimaru?" he asked and both Sasuke and Neji looked at him startled. Sasuke was unnerved by the way he had read his thoughts.

"How?" Sasuke asked his voice so soft only Naruto heard it.

"You never closed your mind off, Sasuke," Naruto said waiting for the explosion he knew would come from the other. He had invaded his privacy, afterall. Sasuke merely looked at him. He thought about what Naruto had said and noted the fact that he could feel his resignation in the back of his mind. He blinked as he also realized that his headache was gone. So, his subconscious had decided in Naruto's favor after all. He smirked and turned to leave.

"Let's go," he said leaving a bewildered Neji standing there.

* * *

Reviews:

Ok, I've got too many reviews to keep doing this. So, I'm going to answer questions here and thank everyone by name at the bottom, ok?

Yes, I get time off for Thanksgiving, but my family is a bunch of rednecks and we go camping. Which means no internet and lots of icky mesquitoes.

Orochimaru is going to have a royal fit when Kabuto tells him about the binding.

They took Kankuro to keep Gaara alive, and left Temari because they thought she was dead. Naruto was human, and fought in the crusades. Iruka is in here. I'm just debating between two different things. And Kiba is coming in as you see.

The two from Naruto's memory were Yondaime and Sai, actually.

Thank yous to: cologate.advanced.fresh., HoshitetheHorse, Kina-chan, shirilyle, yeye101(two reivews in one go. YAY!), kai, angel61991, Ichihime, Noa, Cresent Kitsune, Krazy Ace, RavenToriBlack, siriusfasha, random smile face person (the face won't show up here), DancingDragonBlaze


	6. Chapter 6

a/n: Sorry about the delay with this. It had been the result of many things, largely school. Writing a 15 page paper in three days is not fun. And then exams. And family. And the sucky as hell internet connection I have at my house (normally I do my posting in my dorm room). But I'm out of school and making an effort to get back on schedule. Thank you for waiting.

It's been awhile

Since I could hold my head up high

Since I first saw you

Since I could stand on my own two feet again

Since I could call you

But everything I can'tremember as fucked up as it all may seem the consequences

that I've rendered I've stretched

myself beyond my means

_It's been a while by Staind_

The sound of expensive china hitting the ruby red wall echoed in the tiny room. Kabuto stood there, unflinching, as it whistled past him, the wind from the passage causing the loose pieces of his silver hair to dance around his face. Orochimaru was not happy. He was so angry that his rage was practically a physical thing around him. Kabuto had just finished confirming the rumors about Sasuke. Orochimaru was standing in the middle of his office, hair flying wildly about his face, hiding the contortion that appeared with the dropping of the glamour. The items that before had been sitting on the desk now littered the floor of the room.

"How?" he snarled it slamming his fist into the cherry wood desk, and shattering it into a million splinters. Kabuto said nothing, recognizing it as a rhetorical question. "That little brat refused me for _him_? The Kyuubi? The most wanted vampire in existence? Not only that, but you failed to capture him?" Orochimaru had moved so he was right in front of Kabuto now, and had his hands around his servant's neck, tilting his head slightly to the side, as though trying to decide the best angle to bite him. Kabuto raised no protest, but knew that if he kept quiet he would soon be dead, human servant or not.

"We managed to get Shukaku, master," he said keeping his voice carefully neutral. Orochimaru shoved his face into that of his servant, his face no longer remotely human, but that of a true monster. Veins and muscles outlined themselves in his face, his lips pulled back out of the way of his overly long fangs. His golden eyes were bloodshot, and seemed to almost be bleeding. He looked like the living corpse he was, albeit one that had stop rotting with all it's flesh intact.

"And _how_, pray tell, does that help me?" he hissed it as he began tightening his fingers and cutting off the other's air supply. Kabuto did not bother talking. He opened his mind to the plan that had been forming in the back of his mind. Orochimaru may be the 2,000 year old vampire, but he, he was the reason they had managed to survive that long. His brain was what saved them when the other's charm failed. He prayed it would save the two of them now. For an angry Kyuubi was a deadly thing.

* * *

Naruto followed Sasuke as they headed to the parking lot. He had said nothing since they had left the room. Hell, he had not acknowledged Naruto's presence since he had shut him out of his actual thought process. Naruto could still skim his thoughts, which was how he knew that the other was faintly disturbed by something, but largely contemplative. He was glad that Sasuke was no longer irritated with him. That meant that he could work on trying his damnedist to get the other to take the other marks. Or at the very least be friends. They were kind of attached now, and it seemed as though Sasuke had sort of excepted the predicament. 

Naruto shook his head as they past the reception desk for the ER. How could he be thinking about things like that when Temari was in the ICU and Gaara and Kankuro were with some snake-like bastard? Naruto frowned as he thought about the name. It had sounded familiar, which he knew was never a good thing. He knew that there were no grudges there, but how had he heard the name before? He opened his mouth to ask Sasuke what he knew about Orochimaru, he was the slayer in this set up, and was interrupted as Sasuke had stopped moving. He was glaring at a man standing three feet in front of him. He was of average height, with deep brown hair that had been pulled back into a high ponytail that served to remind Naruto of a pineapple. He wore a worn yellow T-shirt and faded jeans. His eyes were heavy lidded like it was too much effort to lift them up all the way.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now, Nara," Sasuke said calmly. Naruto couldn't help the amused smile that graced his face. Though the other did not show it, he was livid. Naruto wondered what the other had done to incur Sasuke's wrath.

"So troublesome," he sighed before becoming alert as Sasuke began moving towards him. "What did I do?" He asked hands out in supplication. Naruto watched as Sasuke followed him around the room attracting the attention of the patients currently waiting.

"You told Kakashi what happened over the phone, didn't you?" He hissed it. It was the only way that he showed how very angry he was. And he was angry. It was one thing to involve Naruto in what was going on between him and the current Lord of the city. It was another to involve Temari. He may not know very much about the woman, but she had been nice enough to him when he had been recovering from a cross bow bolt to the neck.

"No, I didn't. I emailed it to him," Shikamaru said looking like he was completely unaware of the danger he was facing in the form of an irate Sasuke. Sasuke took a second to calm himself and Naruto thought about stepping between the two should he make a move that seemed threatening. He was sure that while he may want to take out the other, he would regret it later. Death was forever, anger was not.

"You dumbass!" Sasuke raged ignoring the looks of horror from the parents with children sitting in the waiting room. "It's your fault Orochimaru knows! And because of that there is a woman in the ICU!" The last bit Sasuke ended up growling. Shikamaru had to good grace to be ashamed as he spoke. He looked at the ground and mumbled something that sounded like a troublesome to Naruto. Naruto just shook his head and reached for Sasuke's arm. The second that they had skin on skin contact he felt electricity run up his spine. Sasuke jerked and turned his head to look at him out of the corner of his eyes. He, however, made no move to remove the contact. "Just don't do it again," Sasuke hissed somewhat embarrassed at his outburst. Shikamaru just nodded as the three made to leave the building. Sasuke held out a hand to stop him just as they reached the automatic doors. "I need you to watch her. I have a feeling that once they figure out that she's not dead they may come for her. Tell Neji to let you see her." He walked out the automatic doors with Naruto following behind.

Naruto watch him think as he walked towards the parking lot. He looked so cute with his eyes lidded like that and the small frown on his face. Naruto grinned for a second before the knowledge of his situation returned. He knew what this meant. He had two very clear choices. He could either try to break into wherever they were holding Gaara and Kankuro and try to spring them, or he could challenge this Orochimaru for the city. The first method would lead to the deaths of many others who were largely just doing their jobs, while the second would not only saddle him the responsibility of an entire city, but put him even further into the spotlight with the council. He gritted his teeth as they made their way through the parking lot.

Sasuke sensed the frustration flowing off Naruto like a steady hum in the back of his mind. He was getting used to the sensation of having another there, but he was still somewhat distracted by it. And he knew that it was not a good idea to let anyone stew with that kind of frustration building. He had done it too many times to count. He clicked off the alarm on his car and motioned for Naruto to get in. He did so, jerking the door open with more force than was really needed. Sasuke frowned as the door slammed.

"Damnit, Naruto! I know you're frustrated, but leave my car out of it," Sasuke said as he shoved his key into the ignition. He meant it too. He had seen what one overly irate vampire had done to his now ex-girlfriend's car. Let's just say that when it was taken to the dump, it would not need to be compacted. Naruto just glared out the window. Sasuke sighed and prepared himself for the trip home.

* * *

Naruto was livid as he began to recognize the area Sasuke was driving in. He was under the impression that they were headed to Orochimaru's, not Sasuke's house. Hell, he had come to the decision that getting Gaara back was top priority, and that he wanted as little bloodshed as possible. Thus, he was going to show up and challenge him. It was not the best plan, especially since he was still weak from the Trackers, and had a somewhat malfunctioning relationship with his human servant. A human servant that while harder to kill was hardly immortal. He watched him out of the corner of his eye and frowned. It was his fault that the slayer was messed up in all this despite the fact that he knew the other thought otherwise. 

"Sasuke, why are we at your house?" Naruto asked evenly, or at least that was what he tried to do. It came across as strained. Sasuke turned the engine off and turned toward the other.

"Did you think I was going to let just go running into that crazy's arms? I've been dealing with him since I was sixteen, Naruto. Rushing headlong into his base of operations is the surest way to get killed. We need a plan," Sasuke said looking into Naruto's eyes with his own currently black ones. Naruto frowned at him and could feel the anger from the fact that he had to rely on others creep up his spine. Especially those he was trying to protect.

"I have a plan, sunshine. So why don't you start up the car and drive me to the bastard's hidey-hole? Or better yet, just tell me where he is," Naruto said leaking a little bit of power into his voice to make his request sound like a brilliant idea to the other. Sasuke caught himself opening his mouth to give an address. He closed his mouth with a snap and got out of the car in one angry movement. Naruto followed suit realizing he had majorly messed up. Sasuke was angry. Very angry. He had just shared power with the vampire standing on the other side of his car. He had just turned down an offer to the mark removed. One would think that they had managed to get past the whole manipulate the human using your powers shit. Especially, since it had never worked. Sasuke turned stiffly and began to walk back to his house.

_Shit, shit, shit,_ Naruto ranted in his mind as he watched him walk away. Naruto knew better than to try what he had. He bit his bottom lip in a long outgrown habit he had when he was thinking fast. He had not done this since his very first years as a vampire, when he had learned how to perfect the emotionless mask all vampires had to protect themselves. Showing emotions could get you killed very quickly, and you learned to stifle any quirk that might give away your emotions. He moved so that he could touch Sasuke's shoulder in a silent plea to stop, being sure to only touch the fabric. Sasuke stopped, but did not turn around. Naruto took a deep breath and prepared to do something he had not done since his maker had killed his lover all those years ago. He was going to apologize.

"Look, Sasuke, I'm sorry. It's just that I don't want you involved in this more than you have to be. I know that we've sort of gotten used to the situation, but you don't even like me. It's my fault that your powers woke up, and now I'm planning on taking down the strongest vampire in the whole damn city. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I know that it's not an excuse for what I did in the car, but it's the truth," Naruto said looking over the man's shoulder at the dark blue paint of his home. He felt Sasuke's shoulder relax and he shrugged Naruto's arm off.

"C'mon," he said walking the rest of the way to the door and pulling out a key to unlock it. Sasuke wasn't sure why he was so willing to brush off what happened in the car. Normally, he would be livid enough to hold a grudge. Hell, he had not spoken to Kakashi for an entire week one time after he had given him a joy potion. It had been a misguided attempt on the other man's part to cheer him up a bit.

His key met nothing but air as the door was opened before he could put it in the lock. Sakura stood there looking nervous. He raised an eyebrow in question, the hand not holding the keys fingering the knife hidden under the back of his shirt. Naruto tensed as he felt the nervousness flowing off the pink haired girl and saw Sasuke reach for the weapon. He leaned on one side of the alcove created between the garage and where the front door was located. He may have seemed casual, but he was really letting his senses out. If there were humans in the house he would know. He felt three in what he knew was the living room from the brief tour Sakura had given him earlier in the evening. Sasuke tilted his head towards his slightly to let him know he understood the information Naruto had offered him. All this took only a matter of seconds.

"Sasuke-sama," the formal greeting was enough to let the Uchiha know that his guests were important. Sakura never addressed him with the formal Japanese title unless it was someone important from the Slayer's Council. Slayer hierarchy was a lot less organized than that of the vampires, but there were still people that they had to answer to. Especially, now that Slayers were considered government employees. "Heibi is here to see you," she said her eyes flickering to Naruto and then back to him. He understood her nerves suddenly. Heibi was the top four slayers in a region. Normally, this would mean him, Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo. For the other three to come over unannounced meant that something was up with the higher ups. It also presented a problem as far as Naruto was concerned. It would hardly do for him to be seen with a vampire that he was not trying to kill. Sasuke swore under his breath as he made a decision.

Naruto could tell that something was going on. Sasuke was giving off the feeling of anxiety and determination. He could also tell that this was in large part something to do with him. The way Sakura's eyes had flicked to him briefly was a dead giveaway. He moved up off the wall and made to walk past the way he had come. He did not want to cause anymore trouble for Sasuke this night than he already had. Sasuke grabbed his arm and Naruto had to suppress the pleasurable shiver that ran down his spine. But there was something else in the contact besides the pleasure. There was almost a spoken request for him to stay. It was almost as if Sasuke had said the words without opening his mouth. He turned a lopsided grin on his face. Sasuke caught the grin and shook his head, walking into his home. As Sakura led them to the living room they walked side by side, shoulders almost brushing. Somehow Naruto knew that he needed support for this, even though he still was not sure was 'this' was. Being what he was he only knew how to give comfort of any kind one way: touch. But, he was also aware of the fact that, while he meant nothing but comfort in it, the touch between the two was very distracting.

As they entered the living room, Naruto took note of the three spread haphazardly about the room. A woman with hair that almost seemed to be a longer female version of Sasuke's sat in one of the white armchairs, legs over one arm and her back resting against the other. She wore a pair of dark black glasses, and, with the glare from the lamp just over her shoulder, he could not make out her eye color. She wore a white button-up silk blouse and a short black skirt with a pair off what he knew Temari would call 'hooker boots'. They reached her knees, the black leather almost molded to her legs, with three inch stiletto heels. A male sat sprawled in the middle of the couch, both arms on the top, biker boot clad feet resting on the light cherry wood of the coffee table. Naruto blinked as the man's yellow green eyes made contact with his and he smiled at him revealing a mouth full of teeth filed to points. He had heard of tribes in Africa that did this, and knew that it was a very painful process, and one that took years. The third occupant stood with his back facing them, looking at a piece of abstract art that was hung over the mantel of the unused fireplace. His hair was a deep red that reminded Naruto of Gaara, and he wore a suit in contrast to the other two. He turned as they entered and looked startled at Sasuke.

"So then the rumors are true," he said simply looking sad. Sasuke just shrugged and took the other armchair in the room, Naruto moving to stand behind him. His position allowed him a perfect view of the room and those in it. Sakura left, knowing that she was not welcome in Slayer business. Sasuke turned to Naruto and began motioning to the others in the room.

"Karin," he said waving at the woman who was watching him with a gaze that was nothing less than predatory. "Suigetsu," he motioned to the man on the couch who gave him a half hearted salute. Naruto nodded in his direction. "Juugo," he motioned to the suit wearing man who bowed. Naruto returned the gesture with the ease of long practice. "And this is Naruto," Sasuke said jerking his thumb at him. Naruto wanted to glare at his rudeness, but refrained. Something was up with these people. They weren't vampires, but he could still feel the power coming off them. Then there was the fact that Sasuke had completely cut Naruto out of his mind. It made Naruto want to growl.

"So, he's the one, eh? The vampire that knocked you up?" Suigetsu said grinning like it was one big joke. Sasuke sent him a sharp look while Karin snorted at him. She moved so that she was sitting up right in the chair.

"You dumbass, getting knocked up means you're pregnant," her voice had a tone of long suffering. The other just rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out in her direction. Karin made a move hit him upside the head, but was stopped by Juugo.

"Peace," he said as he caught her hand. "We are here to deliver a message and that is all." Juugo turned to look at Sasuke. "I have never been one to judge, and I do not wish to start now. However, the elders are not. They have heard of this rumor, and we have confirmed it by the vampire in your presence. This means that we will have to report it to the elders and you know what that means." Naruto found himself lost. Elders? Judging? He raised an eyebrow as Sasuke nodded. Sasuke should have known that this was going to happen at some point. He would have to go before the elders and try to convince them that he was still capable of keeping his slayer ranking. The chances of him keeping it were slim to none. Most of the elders would see him as nothing more than some vampire's new bitch, and that hurt him. The slayers had become his family after his own had died. They had taught him how to fight, how to become something useful to society. And now they were going to reject him just because of something he had no control over at the time. Naruto could feel the sorrow leaking into the connection Sasuke had tried to cut off. He knew the emotion had to be pretty strong to be leaking over like that. Naruto sat on the arm of the chair and began tracing a light pattern on the other's arm. To hell with touches being distracting. Sasuke needed a distraction right now.

Sasuke ignored the pleasure rippling out of the touches, accepting the comfort he knew Naruto was offering. The message was there behind the touches and he wondered if this was how Naruto understood when he had grabbed him in front of the door earlier. He let the issue with the elders go for the moment, his mind fixing on the other problem. He looked at the others in the room and smirked. Karin recognized the smirk and leaned forward in her chair, licking her lips in anticipation.

"How would you be interested in taking down the Lord of the City?" Sasuke said. Naruto stopped moving his fingers and looked at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. The question was there. He wanted to know what the hell Sasuke was doing. Sasuke shot him a look. _Trust me._

"Shit, yeah, I'm in. Assuming you have some kind of plan to get us past the sheer volume of dead walking around down there," Suigetsu said grinning like a maniac. Juugo frowned. He knew something had to be going on here. There was only one way that he could do something like this without it becoming a suicide mission.

"He's going to challenge the Lord, isn't he?" Juugo said pointing at Naruto and Sasuke nodded. "Then what do you need us for?" Sasuke took a deep breath.

"A couple of things: they are holding a mutual friend and his human servant. We need you to spring them while we're busy with the Lord. That and I pretty sure that he has a pet team of trackers down there," Sasuke said. Naruto agreed with the logic of the statements, but one stuck out. Sasuke was going with him to face the Lord? It both elated him and made him angry. He knew that this vampire had to have at least one human servant, a human servant with all three marks, an immortal human servant. Granted Naruto wanted to have all his power to draw on, but he was not going to risk Sasuke's life over this. He made a mental note to have words with Sasuke concerning this and some other things.

* * *

Okay, so after trying the whole just answering questions thing last chapter, I have determined that I don't care and am just going to reply to everyone.-nods-So here you go.

reviews:

narutovixen: Thanks for the oreos! They are the one sweet that I have to eat. (Really, no one keeps them in the house anymore...le sigh). Please don't die for my story. Dying is bad...I'm glad you love the storyline so much. Especially since we're just now moving through the opening incident.

Ichihime: Yeah, Sasuke seems to be accepting of Naruto for the moment. As we'll see later there is a reason for that.

CloudyEros: Here's the next chapter for you.

siriusfasha: Yep, Orochimaru has Gaara. Alas, as we'll see next chapter, Gaara is not as helpless as they think. Naruto already gave Sasuke one mark unwillingly, he does not wish to give him the other two unless he wants them. The second mark makes a human immortal excepting their Master's will (which is why Kabuto could be killed by Orochimaru). It's a big decision to get the second mark. You'll have to watch as everyone who is mortal around you dies. Not a nice experience. And it has a little to do with Sasuke not wanting to be owned, yes.

cfox: Glad you think I'm keeping everyone in character. It is hard to do. Thanks for the heads-up on the novels. Unfortunately, since I have decided on Iruka's job (not that I'm telling), it may be a while (one or two chapters at the most) before we even see him. And I like Kakashi/Iruka as a second pairing too.

nymphadora1982: I'm glad you like my magical world and how everyone fits in.-bows- It had taken a long time to get everyone to fit just right. Orochimaru is not happy (as you can see), but be careful with the coffee. Even if you don't choke, it burns like a sonofabitch. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

nellie330: Glad you like where things are going.

Shadow Eclipse: I will be getting back to my update schedule now. Roughly it is one to two days per chapter. Mostly depending on the beta...

shirilye: Yes, Iruka is in here. But as I said above, it may be a couple more chapters before we see him.

kina-chan: Yeah, Neji is quite confused. We will certainly be seeing more of him.

BitterSweet27: He is tempted to get rid of the mark. Very tempted. But he also knows what Orochimaru has in store for him. It was like Naruto or mindless slave. And it helps that he knows Naruto basically has a good heart. Glad you like the story.

Crescent Kitsune: Indeed Neji has been left out of the loop a bit. He's going to start picking things up from the rumor mill, however.

Hunter of Bladez: I'm glad you think my writing is unique. Sometimes I find myself wondering if it is even worth the time. Every reviewer here is responisble for the continuing posting of this fic.

KrazyAce: Glad you like the character development, and here's your update.


	7. Chapter 7

a/n: Okay, so this is a little short-shrugs-But hey I have a decent internet connection right now, so I'm going to post this. I'm afraid it's both unbeta'd and blunt, so mayhap some constructive criticism is in order, ne?

This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us

It's time to make our move, I'm shakin off the rust

I've got my heart set on anywhere but here

I'm staring down myself, counting up the years

Steady hands, just take the wheel...

And every glance is killing me

Time to make one last appeal... for the life, I lead

Stop and Stare by OneRepublic

Two hours later found Sasuke showing his company out. They had managed to work out a lot of the kinks in the plan. A plan that was set to be carried out two nights from now. He turned from the door and found himself facing Naruto. He was leaning up against the wall a few feet away from him, eyes staring at the other wall. His hands were in the pockets of the pair of dark blue jeans, his bangs hanging slightly over his eyes. Standing there as he was, he looked just like any other person out on the street. And because of that Sasuke had to admit that he was beautiful. Not in the overly feminine way that most male vampires were, but in a primal way. Even at his most normal looking he screamed predator. He was beautiful the way a leopard stalking it's prey was. And Sasuke had to admit, deep down in the place he pushed all things he never wanted to admit to, he was attracted to that power, that promise of death just underneath the surface.

"Like something you see, sunshine?" Naruto had looked up from his thoughts on how he was going to make everything work to find Sasuke staring at him with something in his eyes that on any other person would have been lust. Sasuke shook his head and walked to him, eyes flicking to the clock on the oven as he passed the kitchen. 4:30 a.m. An hour till sunrise. This was proving to be one of the longest nights of his life. And considering some of the shit that had happened to him during his nights that was saying a lot. He stopped a couple feet away from the other and leaned on the wall opposite, imitating the pose of the other.

"Do you have somewhere to stay for the night?" Sasuke asked watching the other. Naruto tilted his head back so the top was against the wall and he was looking up. He weighed his options. He had the hotel room, but it was trashed, and on top of that it was across town. He did not have enough energy to teleport there (his teleporting skills really required way too much energy). Speaking of his energy, he was going to need another feed before his Rest or he would wake up in full Lust, and it had to be a true feed this time. He sighed and looked back down at the carefully neutral face of his human servant.

"Are you offering?" Naruto asked pushing off the wall. Sasuke titled his head to the side. Was he offering? Yes, yes he was. If what Kabuto had said was true, he was stuck in this situation for a long time. The least he could do would be to try to make this whole thing work. He opened his mouth to reply and Naruto interrupted him before he could say anything. "Think about this for a minute, Sasuke. You know that I'm going to need another feed tonight, and it can't be just raw power this time. There are only two people in this house, one of which won't let me near them on pain of death. So, I ask again, are you offering?" Sasuke shut his mouth. He knew what Naruto was really asking. Would he be okay being Naruto's meal? They both knew Sakura would die before she let Naruto touch her, and moonlight was wasting. Was he willing to trust that Naruto would take no more than what he needed?

"Yes," he said in both answer to himself and Naruto. He ignored the grin that was on Naruto's face at the words. Sasuke moved down the hall, trying to figure out where he could place Naruto. He could not have him just crash on the couch because of the large bay windows that were present in the room. He knew that all vampires regardless of age felt the effects of sunlight exposure. That also ruled out the guest room because of the fact that Sakura had put sheer curtains in that room. Something about the light making the room seem bigger. That left his room. It had thick wool curtains due to the fact that he often slept during the day, and would wake at the smallest amount of sunlight filtering through. He sighed throwing open the door to his room.

Naruto studied the room through the joy of having Sasuke say yes. Hell, it was enough for him to bite back the things he wanted to talk about and give him hope that they might be able to pull the whole thing off. The room was large, with a plush off white carpet and beige walls except for the one the bed faced. That wall was a rich blue color that matched the comforter of the king sized bed which sat in the middle of the opposite wall. A dark cedar trunk sat at the foot of the bed. The wall directly opposite of where he was standing held a set of three windows connected so they built out of the room, with a small seat in the created space. Against the accent wall was a wardrobe of the same wood as the trunk. The wall that held the entrance also held another door to what Naruto thought was the bathroom. The room was warm despite the cool coloring, but somehow seemed little lived in.

Sasuke moved into his room and opened the wardrobe searching for a pair of pants that the other could wear to bed. He sensed Naruto walk over to the bed and sprawl out on it. He turned around with a pair of white PJ pants that he never wore in one hand his own black in the other, and threw them at Naruto. He caught them as Sasuke began heading to the bathroom. He knew he did not have time to take a shower, but he also knew he needed a minute to steel himself for what he was about to do. Naruto watched Sasuke disappear into the bathroom as the fact that this was his room dawned on him. He smirked at the thought that he was going to be sleeping in the other's private quarters. He tossed off the orange T-shirt and undid the buckle on his belt before sliding his jeans off. He pulled on the white pants, nodding in approval at the fact that the material was a form of synthetic silk that felt good on the body. He turned down the bedspread, smirking at the revealed black and blood red sheets underneath. Sasuke may have seemed like the rough and tumble kind of guy, but it appeared he liked his little luxuries too. He sat cross legged on the bottom sheet and stared at the door. He could feel the need to Rest tugging at him, but knew better than to give in before he had a feed.

Sasuke looked at himself in the mirror above the freestanding sink. He wondered fleetingly what others saw that was so appealing. While he was confidant and had long ago accepted his looks, he was far too feminine for his own tastes. His face almost all angles and high cheek bones, and his dark thick lashes gave the appearance that he was constantly wearing eyeliner. He shook his head away from these thoughts before walking out of the room and turning off the light. He stood in the door way admiring the way Naruto contrasted with his surroundings. The white looked good against his tan skin, and there was something very sexy about the fact that he was on _his_ bed. Sasuke found himself moving towards him like he was being called. He stopped standing next to him and against the bed. He felt an odd bit of nervousness as the situation hit him again. He was going to offer his blood to a vampire. He stopped himself as he realized how he was thinking. This was not some random vampire. This was Naruto.

"So, how are we going to do this?" he asked licking his lips at the predatory grin that slid onto Naruto's face as he watched. Something about having it directed toward him made him excited, and had his blood rushing south. He also knew that it shouldn't that he should be nervous, bordering on scared to have such a look directed at him. Naruto moved so that one leg hung off the bed next to where he was standing and bent the other at the knee.

"There are a couple ways we can do this," Naruto said his voice a light teasing tone and his eyes raked over the other's body. Naruto was pleased to note that the attraction he had felt at the club was still there. It could help things. "I can do it in pain or pleasure. It all depends on what you are willing to let me do. Personally, I prefer pleasure." Sasuke understood what Naruto was telling him. He could bite him raw, without rolling his mind. It would hurt, a lot. He had his share of unwanted bites in his years as a slayer, but he had never had a bite where he was rolled. That required letting down his shields. But he really did not want the whole pain thing. Naruto could sense his unease and had an idea of what was troubling him. "Sasuke, you don't have to completely let down your defenses for this. Just let them down far enough I can dull the pain down." Sasuke nodded. He could do that. He opened his mind to Naruto like he had at the hospital, only this time he was aware he was doing it.

Naruto smiled as he felt Sasuke slide into his thoughts like a cool liquid. He reached forward and grabbed Sasuke by his hips and pulled him onto the bed between his legs. Sasuke sat where he put him, looking utterly submissive in the way he was watching Naruto for his cues. His legs were bent to the sides and he was leaning forward slightly on his hands. Naruto was glad that the blood he had taken earlier had been burned in his need for energy, meaning that while he was mentally aroused, he could not be physically. It meant that regardless of how much he wanted to jump the other, he could not do so. Sasuke could feel the nervousness creeping back up on him as he sat there. The look Naruto was giving him reminded him of the one a house cat gave just before it pounced on a helpless animal. It should not have been the sexiest look he had ever had directed at him.

Naruto snaked one hand so it rested on the dip in the small of Sasuke's back, and moved the other up to cup the back of his head as he pulled him forwards. Sasuke moved so that he was straddling Naruto's lap and tried to ignore both the warm pleasure from Naruto's skin against his and the suggestive position they were in. He should not be as turned on as he was by the situation. Naruto tilted Sasuke's head slightly to the side to give him a better angle on the vein he was searching for. He bent his head and kissed a spot low on his neck, where he knew the rushing blood waited. He felt a pleasant tingling in his lips, and grinned against Sasuke's skin as he shivered from the pleasure. He began gathering his power for the light roll he was going to perform, letting it caress along Sasuke's skin as he pulled it into him. Sasuke bit back a moan as the warm breeze that was Naruto's power washed over him. It was like Naruto was breathing over every inch of his skin. He was harder than he had ever been in his life. Damn, it felt good. It all felt so good, and Naruto had not even rolled him yet. Naruto licked the spot against his lips and Sasuke reached out and grabbed his shoulders to keep himself from falling flush against him. Something about the action had him questioning his ability to support himself without leverage.

As amused as Naruto was by the other's reactions, he knew time was not on his side at the moment. He mouthed the spot in warning and felt Sasuke tense slightly. With the ease of long practice he flooded the other's mind with intense pleasure as he sunk his fangs in the skin piercing the vein he was looking for. Sasuke was glad for the hand at his neck preventing him from throwing his head back in pleasure, and making the wound too large to be safe. The flood of pleasure was so intense it ripped a strangled scream from his throat. It pulled his orgasm from him brutally, as he came in his pajama pants. But instead of fading, the orgasm continued to roll through his body, building as it became painful. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes as he rode the thin line between pain and pleasure.

Naruto knew something was not right the second he tasted the other's blood. It had not tasted like this before, like some kind of intoxicating drug that had him wanting more. He could feel the power singing through it as he drank, already knowing he would not need the normal amount to gain his fill. The power in it was heady, and slid down his throat so easily. He fought with himself to pull back, lifting his head enough so that he could lick the puncture marks and seal them. He rested his head against the other's neck, both panting. Naruto noted for the first time crescent shaped wounds on both shoulders from where Sasuke had gripped him in an attempt to anchor himself. Naruto moved so that he could look up into a pair of glazed crimson eyes. The tomoe was spinning rapidly around the pupil as he watched.

"What. The. Fuck. Was. That?" Sasuke managed to hiss in between pants. Naruto could feel the other's embarrassment and confusion. He noticed that Sasuke's arms were trembling from holding him up and moved so they were flush together, Sasuke's head under his chin.

"I dunno. It's never happened before," Naruto said quietly. His mind began working it's way through reactions and what he knew about Sasuke, and he felt a small bit of fear work it's way into his stomach. They had finally managed to reach some sort of unspoken agreement, and now he knew that when Sasuke came out of the afterglow he was going to kill him. He opened his mouth to offer an apology, but was stopped by a soft snore coming from the man he was holding. Naruto sighed and slid so he was laying down and pulled the covers over them. He had a feeling tomorrow was going to be hell.

* * *

Sasuke woke hours later to find himself tangled with what was for all intents and purposes a corpse. The only difference was the slight warmth given off. It would be ice cold for a human, but was the normal running temperature for a vampire. Sasuke lifted himself off the chest he had been sprawled over, wincing as he turned his head. His neck hurt like a sonofabitch, but he knew without feeling that the wound was healed for the most part, a gift from the mark. The harder part came from the fact that one of his legs was between Naruto's and bent around so it curled underneath one. Naruto was for the most part a corpse, meaning that after the amount of time they had been out of it, rigor mortis had set in. He sat back on the other leg and angled himself so that he could slid his leg out without having to move Naruto's. Unfortunately, the angle was such that as he moved it he fell out of the bed. 

He stood, glancing at the digital clock on the other side of the bed. It was 5:30 in the evening. Naruto would be stirring in an hour. There was enough time for him to take a shower and change before the other woke. He was in the bathroom, in the process of pulling his pants off, when he noticed how stiff the fabric was. A blush colored his cheeks as he remembered the events of the night before. He brought the water to temperature in the shower as he pondered his reaction. One part of him was screaming at him in disgust that he had let the other touch him like that, and the fact that he liked it, while another was aching to do it again. He stepped under the shower letting the water run over him. He knew what he was going to have to do. He could not survive listening to two parts of himself. He had tried that when he was younger and just after the massacre. He had been dealing with a part of him that had delighted in his brother's death, in the fact he had killed him. The other part of him was horrified by this, and wanted nothing to do with his powers. That was the part of him that he had ended up listening to. He entertained the brief thought of what his life would've been like had he chosen the other path.

He forced those thoughts from his mind as he began to clean himself. By his own internal clock he had less than forty-five minutes to decide which of the voices he was going to listen to. Was he going to go with the one that told him what he had done was disgusting? That this whole thing was wrong? That his attraction to power was twisted? He glared at the wall, and thought about where this voice had gotten him. It had managed to piss off Naruto, and left him largely unsatisfied and full of self loathing. He failed to see how any of those things were going to help him at all. On the other hand, he could listen to the other voice. The one that told him it was okay to find power attractive enough for him to be growing somewhat hard at the mere memory of the predatory look Naruto had given him. The one that told him that as long as he did not hurt anyone it was alright.

He stood there letting his thoughts chase each other in circles until the water went cold. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed one of the overly fluffy black towels that bore his family mon. He still had no answer to his question, but he knew one thing. He was tired of hating himself, of trying to feel nothing, of the monotony he had fallen into. If it took him listening to a part of himself he had suppressed for so long he was surprised it was still speaking up to do it, then, damn, he'd listen like his life depended on it.

* * *

Reviews:

SandShadows: Glad you enjoy my take on the whole vampire thing. This fic came largely from two sources, one was the fact that I was tired of Sasuke the vampire, and thought, hey, I bet you Naruto would kickass as a vampire. And then I got my hands on the new Nightwish CD. As for the marks, they are a morph between the 3 bites that were traditionally required to turn a human, and Laurell K. Hamilton's marks.

CloudyEros: Did I keep it up? Did I? Did I?

HoshitheHorse: Well, here's a whole chapter on Sasuke and Naruto. It's still short, but, hey, I have to use to net as I get it. (Being home sucks).

Ichihime: He is not going to take over the city. It would attract too much attention from the Council (like he's not already...) But as for who will do it, that's my little secret.

nymphadora1982: Sasuke will get the second mark soon, but that's all you'll get out of me. As for if Naruto could be pushed into giving it because he was injured, no. He could just keep shoving power into him to force him to heal. Which is what the first mark is. It's the mark of power, and links the two's powers together. The second mark links their lives together, and the third mark balances the other two. Suigetsu is an elemental, Juugo is a part demon, and Karin can channel pure bitchiness. Seriously. She's a really kickass human. And thank you for the review.

colgate.advanced.fresh: Look I updated!

Kina-chan: I updated before Christmas! So please don't cry.

* * *


	8. Chapter 9

I can't escape this hell

So many times I've tried

But I'm still caged inside

Somebody get me through this nightmare

I can't control myself

Animal I have Become3 Days Grace

Gaara opened his eyes and found that there was no difference. He blinked to make sure, and noted that, indeed, there was no light for his pupils to absorb and use to see. He took inventory of his body and noted that while everything was indeed intact, he felt like he had been hit by a Mack truck. A Mack truck that had decided for whatever reason to back up and hit him again just for good measure. He knew that part of it was from his body rejecting what those damn Trackers had done to him, but the pin and needle tingling that was rapidly creeping from his toes up his body was the beginnings of the Lust. He knew that this meant his ability to think half coherently was now ticking away. Growling low in his throat he made to move, only to find that he couldn't. He was in some kind of box that was a very tight squeeze. There was barely an inch from the tip of his nose and the lid of the box. He had been in too much pain before to notice that the sides of his body were flush against the box's sides.

As the realization of this hit him, his mind noted what he was in. He was in the box, a tool normally used by Lords to punish their subjects. He knew without seeing that the outside of the box was covered in thick chains that had been bathed in holy water of some kind, if not blessed. He pushed using the sides of his hands and felt the burning sensation that let him know they had picked the right religion. Vampires were limited by the religions that saw their risings as abominations, and then only by the religion they had practiced. Gaara cursed the fact that he had been born Irish, that it made him Christian. It made it ridiculously easy for Lords to find the correct box to put him in. Why couldn't he have been born in Haiti? Then he could believe in Voodoo and not have this damn weakness. Never mind the fact that he was a couple hundred years too early for the religion.

He stifled this train of thought and concentrated on feeling his siblings. They were his only hope now. One of them had to be in the area, because he could feel the steady stream of power as it flowed through him trying to stave off the Lust. He did not have time to be wondering why only one of them was giving him anything. He sent the impulse to seek him through the link and prayed that one would find him soon.

* * *

Naruto flicked open his eyes, taking note of the familiar ache that came with waking from a Rest. He stretched, knowing that he needed to get the blood that was left in his body circulating. He gave a little half grin, the most he could manage without it being painful this early, as he thought about just whose blood was sluggishly making it's way through his body. Naruto stared at the ceiling absently as the shower he hadn't been consciously aware was running turned off. It answered one of the questions he had floating in his head. He now knew where Sasuke was. And that in and of itself was enough to almost sour his good mood. He had enjoyed last night, it was not everyday that you got to drink blood with that much raw power sliding through it. He felt like a wine connoisseur that had been given an especially rare vintage. A few sips and he was in heaven, but now that wine was in danger of being taken away.

He sat up on his elbows as the door to the bathroom opened. He knew that on some level Sasuke had enjoyed last night as well, but he also knew how fragile what he had with Sasuke earlier was. Frankly, he would not be surprised to find that he was back to square one. He watched Sasuke move as he went about digging around in the wardrobe looking for something to wear, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sasuke on the other hand was doing the best he could to ignore the feeling of someone else's eyes on his back. Not that he wanted to. Oh, no, he wanted to march over to his bed and demand that he do it again, damn it. Just thinking that had Sasuke blushing and he was glad he had his back turned. He pulled on the pair of red boxers he had gotten out as well as his most hated pair of jeans. They were really too small, but nothing else was clean. He made a note to tell Sakura to do laundry soon. Sasuke turned back to the bed and found Naruto still staring at him.

"What?" Sasuke snapped glaring. He felt like a fish in a fishbowl with a hungry cat watching him. Naruto ignored the tone of the remark and carefully schooled his face into it's familiar pleasant mask. He and Sasuke really needed to talk about some things and he was not going to let their tendency to fight get in the way this time. He was serious. Sasuke felt a chill run down his spine as he saw that look settle on Naruto's face. It was the same one he had given his Master in his dream. Something about the look frightened him and it was not the good kind of frightened.

"We need to talk, Sasuke," his voice was a soft monotone, and Sasuke found himself hating it. That was not how he wanted his name to come off those lips. Yes, he was admitting that he was attracted to the other. Yes, he was admitting that he had other ideas for how they could do things. But that did not mean he was going to act on them or voice them. No, he could play this game just the same as the other. He moved so he was sitting on the edge of his bed looking at the other. He raised an arched brow in a silent signal to continue. "About what happened last night…I never meant for that to happen."

Sasuke felt panic start to bloom in his chest. Was Naruto regretting drinking his blood? Had he come to accept his attraction only to be rejected by the other? The thought alone was enough to make his blood boil. Naruto kept his features carefully controlled as he felt the rage flow through the link. Sasuke had not cut him off last night like he had thought. But the feeling was confusing him. Wasn't this what he wanted to hear? Not only that, but it was partially the truth. He had not meant to roll him that deeply and completely. How was he supposed to know that Sasuke was that sensitive to a roll?

"So it was a mistake, then?" Sasuke tried to keep his voice neutral, but it was hard to do when he was clenching his teeth. Naruto reached for him, not thinking, and the other jerked back, nearly falling off the bed in his haste. He looked back at Naruto, completely unaware that in his anger he had let his control slip and the sharingan were dancing in his eyes. The eyes pulled the other in, they demanded an answer, and he would give it.

"Yes. No." Naruto said still trapped in a world of reds. He knew he was rolled by Sasuke, but he did not care. He knew Sasuke would not hurt him. He trusted him. Sasuke was bewildered by the answer. It was either yes or no, not both.

"Explain," he demanded unaware of the fact that he had caught Naruto in his gaze.

"I never meant to roll you so fully. I just wanted you to enjoy the experience. But I don't regret doing it. I don't regret the taste of you on my tongue," Naruto said simply. Sasuke was shocked enough by the other's admission that he broke eye contact and released him. Naruto blinked as he shook off the after affects. He reached out and ran the pads of his fingers down the side of Sasuke's cheek as he studied the black and red of his sheets. His anger was gone, but confusion was quickly replacing it. What did this mean?

"Whatever you want it to," Naruto said softly. Sasuke jerked around and looked at him. Had he said that out loud? More importantly, what did he want this to mean? Part of him wanted to pretend that it never happened, and that it would never happen again. But another, softer voice, wanted to know when it would happen again, wanted to tell him that he had loved every minute of it. He was splitting again and he knew it. He closed his eyes and decided that he was going to listen to that little voice.

"Do you need a feed now?" he asked softly and tilted his head to the side in invitation. Naruto let out a breath he was holding. He was not going to push him away? He was not mad? He felt almost giddy with relief. He grinned and pulled Sasuke to him. It was a hug, pure and simple. The feel of their bare chests touching sent pleasure rushing through both and had Sasuke pulling back early. If he stayed there a problem would develop. Naruto let him go as he pondered the other's question. He knew the most about his body and it's needs.

"I'll need one before the night's out. We can do it now or later," Naruto said his large grin turning slightly darker. The look was enough to cause his blood to run south. Oh, yes, he would like to do it now. Please and thank you. But…

"We're going out, Naruto. I can't have visible bite marks," Sasuke said pursing his lips together. Naruto couldn't help but think the pout was way too tempting to be possible. His grin became devious as he thought.

"There is more than one place to take blood from, sunshine," as he said it a finger ran down the inside of one jean clad thigh. There were three places a vampire could draw blood from: the neck, the wrists, and the femoral artery in the thigh. The blood flow there was strong enough to aid in the drinking. Sasuke shuddered under the touch. Okay, he could do that.

* * *

Sakura hummed softly to herself as she moved through the kitchen. It was close to the time when Sasuke would wake up, so she was putting the coffee on. Sasuke never ate after he had just gotten up, preferring to settle with two cups of dark roast coffee. She smiled as she realized just how well she knew his habits. She knew that he would never love her the way she loves him, but she was content in the knowledge that he would never feel that way for anyone. Let alone that annoying little vampire he saved. The ringing of the phone brings her out of her thoughts. She picks up the black cordless phone, a small smile on her face.

"Uchiha residence, Sakura speaking," she said cheerfully. She knew she sounded like a secretary when she did it, but Sasuke demanded she answer the phone like that, and so she did.

"Hello, Sakura. It's Neji. Could you get Sasuke for me please?" Sakura was already moving down the hall as she recognized the voice. She could just picture the other bowing stiffly into the phone. It would be so like him; always concerned with formality. It did not help that he was a first generation American. His family was not native to the Americas, and were trying to stick as much to their traditions as possible. This resulted in them coming off as either stiffly polite or rudely cold.

"Of course. Just one second," she said reaching for the dull gold of the door knob. She moved the phone away from her ear, and used her hand to cover the mouth piece as she pushed the door open. The sight the greeted her caused the phone to slide from nerveless fingers. Naruto was sitting inbetween Sasuke's bare legs, head bent. He lifted his head up and turned toward her, a few drops of blood running down the corner of his mouth. His eyes were wide in shock.

* * *

Sasuke was flying high, though not as high as before. It seemed as though Naruto had taken his sensitivity to a roll into account this time. There was no painful overload of pleasure, just a pleasant buzz like what one got after going under at the dentist's. While he liked the fact that he was not overwhelmed this time, he could not help but feel a little disappointed. It did not help things that his body had reacted the same to Naruto's calling of his power. He knew he was sporting a tent in his boxers, the only article of clothing he was wearing. He heard the door open and lifted his head off the pillows in an attempt to work up enough energy to tell Sakura to come back later.

Suddenly, the pleasurable sensation was gone and in it's place was the pain from the bite. He whimpered as the pain rushed over him, too fast for him to stifle it. Naruto was sitting up and had his head turned over his shoulder. Sasuke sat up and saw Sakura crumple to the floor in a dead faint. He swore and got off the bed, only noticing the phone when he was right next to it. He could hear Neji asking if she was alright on the other end of the phone. He lifted the phone to his ear, and bent at the waist to check her pulse. It was steady; she would come round soon.

"Sasuke," he said to get the other to stop talking. Neji was quiet for a minute before he started talking again.

"What was all that about? Is Sakura alright? Are you alright?" Neji asked without waiting for the other to answer. Sasuke sighed into the phone.

"Everything is fine," Sasuke said as Naruto handed him a damp washcloth. He raised an eyebrow as Naruto pointed to the puncture marks he had reopened getting off the bed like that. "She just saw something she should not of. Why are you calling?" Sasuke pressed the cloth into the wound, trying to stem the blood flow, and winced as he saw the small trail of blood leading from his bed to where he was. Blood was bitch to get out of normal carpeting; light colored carpet was nigh impossible. Naruto had picked Sakura up and taken her to her room.

"You remember the blonde that was admitted to the ICU last night?" Neji asked. Sasuke nodded before he remembered that Neji could not see him.

"Yeah. What about her?" he asked moving so he was on the black bottom sheet of his bed, lessening the chance of any of the blood he missed staining the sheets.

"She woke up about 20 minutes ago…," something in Neji's tone told him that this was not necessarily a good thing. "She woke up crazy. Took down two orderlies before they managed to tranquilize her. Took enough tranquilizers to down a bull elephant, too. We put her in the containment ward, but, Sasuke,_ she punched through the one way mirror and is still coming_," Neji sounded concerned now. Sasuke swore and stood, pulling on his discarded jeans.

"We'll be there in 15," he said buttoning the fly. He pressed the end button as he heard the startled "_we?_" coming from the other end. Naruto watched him and began pulling on his own clothes from the night before. Sasuke pulled on a dark green T-shirt as he explained to the other what was going on.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke hit the hospital at a dead run. People stared as they sped past looking like nothing so much as tan and white blurs. There was a definite squeak as they came to a halt before the containment ward. Neji, Shikamaru, the two trackers from before, and a black haired woman were leaning against the metal door with all their might. The sound of screeching metal could be heard as the steel door started to bend out. The hall had been emptied of staff save for the black haired woman. Naruto turned, took one look, and knew what was going on.

"Move," he said as he advanced toward the door. They looked at him like he was insane.

"Are you nuts? Sure you're a vampire, you'll be okay, but what about the rest of us? That's tempered steel she's bending," the metal let out a sickening groan as if agreeing with what the tattooed brunette was saying. Naruto snarled at him.

"Move, damn it. I know what I'm doing," Naruto said looking at him. They flicked their eyes to Sasuke who stood behind him panting. Naruto did not need to breathe, but he did and that run had taken a bit out of him. He was keeping up with a vampire afterall. He nodded.

"It's your funeral," the brunette said as he moved, not thinking about how ridiculous his statement sounded. The door flew open not a second after they were gone. Temari stood in the doorway panting with the effort she had been using to escape. Her eyes were wild as they fixed on Naruto. Her chest heaving she moved toward him. She grabbed his collar and lifted. Naruto stayed carefully limp in her grip. He felt Sasuke's worry and sent reassurance back down the link. Any sudden moves could set her off.

"WHERE is Gaara? He's calling me. He's in pain," her voice was hoarse as though she had been screaming for hours. He looked her in the eyes and gently began drowning her in them. He felt her relax as the cool blue soothed her.

"He was captured, remember, Tem?" he said as she fell against him. She buried her face into his shirt.

"It hurts. He hurts. I need to help him," she whispered. The others were watching him in shock now. How had he managed to calm the mad woman down so fast? He brought a hand up and stroked her hair.

"I know, Tem, I know," he pulled her away from him enough so he could look into her eyes. "But you have to stay here and get better. You can't help him using all your power to punch through walls," his tone was that of an indulgent parent scolding a young child. She shook her head.

"Can't. He's calling," she said almost pouting. Naruto frowned. There was nothing he could do to stop her if Gaara was really calling her through the link. He had no way of separating her from him without killing one of them. Sasuke could sense the worry coming from the other and knew why. Gaara had sent a compulsion out for his human servants to return to him most likely in an effort to regroup. But he knew that if Temari went Orochimaru would have both of Gaara's human servants and control over him. He frowned as a thought hit him. He was a necromancer, wasn't he? And didn't the book say that he should go with the flow as far as what he could and couldn't do? He placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and motioned for him to release Temari. Naruto raised both eyebrows (he was, unfortunately, devoid of the genetic quirk that allowed the raising of only one eyebrow), but let her go.

Sasuke took a deep breath and slowly eased the blanket covering his powers off. He looked into her eyes and began looking for the part of her connected to Gaara. He could feel the strain behind his eyes as he worked. She was not dead, just connected strongly to them, and as such was harder to work with. He finally found the red-gold cord of power that connected the two together. He could feel the pulse that was the compulsion. He had found the link, but what to do? He needed to dampen the link, not destroy it…Inspiration struck and he smirked. He summoned his power, imagining a think wool blanket. Once he felt like he had enough he carefully wrapped it around the link. Finished, he dismissed his own power, only to find the ground rushing to meet him. His descent was halted, however, by Naruto. He smirked as he saw the pair of concerned blue eyes and passed out.

* * *

Sasuke woke a few minutes later with a pounding headache. It felt like the entire population of a small European country was tap dancing on his brain. He opened his eyes and found himself regretting it. The room was blindingly white like all hospital rooms were. He blinked a few times to get used to the light and noticed the pleasurable tingling just under the back of his jaw were Naruto had two fingers placed. He could feel a warm rippling sensation running through his blood and realized just what Naruto was doing. Another helpful hint was the smell of forest thick in the air.

"Nice to see you're back among the living," the black haired woman said with a smile. She was petite with a neat bob-cut. "You used too much power to do whatever you did to that girl. You should be much more careful in the future," she said sternly.

"Thank you, Shizune," Neji said from the doorway. She nodded and left. Neji walked into the room as Naruto removed his fingers. "Looks like you've got yourself into some deep shit this time, Uchiha," he smirked. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and sat up, ignoring the dizziness that came with the motion. "Thanks all the same," he said with a nod before leaving. Sasuke swung his legs around and found himself looking at Naruto. He seemed like he could not decide whether to be concerned or amused. Sasuke stood and swayed with the motion, nearly tumbling back into the bed.

"Take it easy there, sunshine," Naruto said amusement seeming to win out. Sasuke did his best to glare at him before moving to the door. Naruto followed him down the hallway, hands in his pockets. They made it out of the building without a problem, though Sasuke had wavered dangerously a couple of times. Naruto was so amused at his servant's determination to make it to his car without help that he failed to notice the presence of other humans until they were on them. They surrounded Sasuke's car, or rather what was left of it. All the windows were broken, the hood bent in the middle through the engine, all the tires slashed. Kabuto stood there leaning up against it, five others sitting on the trunk. Kabuto straightened as they approached.

"Ah, Sasuke-san. It's a pleasure to see you," he said bowing mockingly. "You too, Kyuubi-san. I'm just here to deliver a little message," he paused to motion towards the car. "Your challenge has been heard and accepted. I assume you know the rules, Kyuubi-san?" He waited for Naruto to nod, before he and the others made a move to leave. Sasuke stared at what was left of his car, a burning rage consuming him. That was his baby. He had saved for years to be able to afford it, and the bastards had destroyed it. He moved toward them, only to be stopped by Naruto's restraining hand.

"Sasuke, you can't. They've accepted the challenge, any move against them now would have us forfeit," Naruto said sounding as neutral as he could. He knew that the car meant something to his servant and was angry on his behalf, but he knew vampire law. To raise a hand against any of them was to cheat and make their claim illegitimate. That was why Kabuto had made sure Naruto knew the laws. They could not claim ignorance now. Sasuke growled deep in his throat as he pulled out his cell. He glared at their retreating backs. They would pay for this. Things had just gotten personal.


	9. Chapter 8

You were the sweetest thing that I ever knew

But I don't care for sugar honey if I can't have you

Since you've abandoned me

My whole life has crashed

Won't you pick the pieces up'cause it feels just like I'm walking on broken glass

Walking on Broken Glass-Annie Lennox

Sakura sat at the bar, the bitter taste of her last shot of tequila staining her throat. It hurt and left her raw, but was nothing compared to what her heart was feeling. She had been so content in her little world. Now it lay in millions of pieces, all because of some damned vampire. Her knuckles stood out white as she gripped her shot glass. What did that vampire have that she had not? She was good looking despite the shock of pink hair she had been cursed with thanks to a bleaching experiment gone wrong. She had spent years by his side taking care of his every need. Hell, she was _alive_ for Christ's sake!

She snorted as she licked the salt off her left wrist and downed her next shot. A lot of good that had done her. She had done everything he had asked of her. She had even played ignorant of the paranormal world for him. Truth was she knew far more than she was letting on. Somewhere back down the line in her family there had been a siren. From what she had managed to gather from her family's recorded history and tradition, the siren had fallen in love with a vampire. They had both fled to America to escape the European Council. The vampire was young and as such was able to impregnate the siren. Sirens, though powerful, were not immortal, and she had died. Eventually, the power in the blood had run thin, until it was like it was now: enough to let Sakura know when she should be afraid of something and nothing else.

She looked up as someone slid into the seat next to her. He was her height, making him short for a male, with red hair similar to that of the redhead from the club. His eyes were a hypnotic green with red flecks that announced the fact that he was not human. He looked to be no older than fourteen, making him one of the vampires that had been grandfathered over after the bill granting vampires rights had been signed. She smirked as she looked at him. He was the person she was waiting on, no doubt about it.

"Sasori, I presume?"

* * *

Sasuke glared as he looked out one of the back doors of the rainbow colored hippy van he was currently riding in. After he and Naruto had spent a good two hours between the insurance agent and the tow man, he had called Kakashi in hopes that he would come get them. Instead he had ended up reaching the college professor Kakashi had conned into living with him. The man had insisted on coming to get them. To make matters worse, he and Naruto had hit it off, leaving him to brood over the loss of his car by himself.

"So what do you do for a living, Iruka?" Naruto asked politely. The man behind the driver's wheel was equal in height to him and had long brown hair pulled up in a pony tail. The most distinct thing about his was the scar that slanted across his nose.

"I'm a professor of non-human studies at Texas University," he said cheerfully. Sasuke could've rolled his eyes. He knew that was how Kakashi had met Iruka. Iruka was doing a lecture on vampire culture, the only member of the undead to have an actual culture, and he had called Kakashi in to aid in the lecture. Sasuke thanked his lucky stars that had moved out at that point and did not have to deal with his overly perverted guardian's mating rituals.

"They really have courses about us? Wow, that's really cool. If you ever do a night lecture and you need a vampire to come in, I'd be more than glad to," Naruto said with a happy grin. Iruka returned the grin as he pulled into the driveway of the house he shared with Kakashi. The house was small, but had that homey look that Sasuke's always lacked. He knew that it was largely Iruka's influence that had lead to the place being in decent repair. Kakashi had not cared as long as the place was not going to fall on them in their sleep. Sasuke eyed the silver mustang that sat next to where Iruka had parked. They still had places to go tonight, and he would be damned before he would be forced to take that ugly thing Iruka drove anywhere.

He got out of the van, along with the other two, and walked up to the door. He and Iruka walked in without thinking and it was only a small cough behind them that reminded them of Naruto standing just outside the house. Sasuke felt like he could have slapped himself on the forehead like Iruka was currently doing. Naruto was a vampire, how the hell could he have forgotten? He could not enter non-public buildings without permission from the owner. Iruka hurriedly invited him in, and gave him a small apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that. I'm not used to having visitors such as yourself," he said awkwardly. Naruto just gave him a grin despite the fact that Sasuke could feel the slight hurt at how he danced around him. He was acting like Naruto had some kind of terminal cancer and would burst into tears if it was mentioned. Iruka ushered him into the living room shouting for Kakashi to get his ass down there to see his foster son. Sasuke rolled his eyes as Kakashi came in wearing only a pair of green boxers with little red hearts all over them. Only he could wear something that embarrassing and manage to look so cool in them. His mask was firmly in place, leaving the lower half of his face covered.

"Why Sasuke, to what do I owe the pleasure of having you at my home?" he said sounding like the very idea was the most exciting thing in the world. Sasuke looked at the ceiling and wondered once again why he had been cursed with him as his guardian.

"I need to borrow your car," he said holding his hand out for the keys. He could almost see the smile that was curving the other's lips.

"Now, now, Sasu-chan. How incredibly rude of you. Aren't you going to introduce me to the vampire sitting next to you? And what happened to your car? The last I knew you were taking such good care of it one would think you were its long lost mother," Kakashi said crossing his arms. Sasuke glared at him. It was no surprise that it had no affect on the other. Sasuke had been giving him those glares since he was eight.

"This is Naruto. Naruto this is Kakashi, my former guardian. As for what happened to my car, Kabuto killed it," he bit out the last as though each word had to be pulled out of his mouth with a team of horses. Kakashi's one visible eyebrow rose almost into his hairline.

"Kabuto? Just what is going on, Sasuke?" Sasuke glared at his guardian as he narrowed his eyes at him. "Spill it. Now." Sasuke sighed. There was no way he had ever been able to say no to that tone of voice. It promised immense pain to any thought of disobeying. He told him everything and Iruka went into the kitchen to make them coffee. He knew that this was what the two of them did, but it still made him worried, this talk of killing the biggest master vampire in the city. "And you were planning on telling me about this when?" Kakashi asked the humor from before gone from his voice. Naruto wisely chose to stay out of this.

"I wasn't. I know you Kakashi, and you would insist on coming too. But we already set our numbers for the clash," Sasuke said sipping the tea Iruka had brought in. Naruto took the cup offered him more for the warmth the cup offered than for the contents. Tea had never been something he enjoyed even while alive, and now when it had no other value than it's taste he was even less inclined to drink it. Iruka seemed to notice this and colored slightly, mouthing sorry across the coffee table. Naruto shook his head and gave him a smile, trying to show him that everything was alright. Kakashi let out sigh.

"Fine. You're a grown man now, Sasuke. Hell, you've even got a vampire for a servant," he ignored the indigent hey from Naruto. "Just promise me that you'll go properly equipped. You should go see both Tenten and Haku." Sasuke stuck his hand out for the keys again.

"It's already been arranged. As a matter of fact that's where we were headed before this stuff happened," Kakashi nodded and picked the keys up from the coffee table where they were sitting. He handed them to Sasuke and they held each other's gaze for a minute. Then Naruto and Sasuke were moving down the hallway towards the door.

"Be careful," Iruka called to their backs and they both nodded not facing the other man. They were being as careful as one could be considering they had challenged the biggest badest vampire in the city to a duel to the death.

* * *

The car ride was quiet, filled mostly with Sasuke swearing at the other drivers in the area. It seemed that the loss of his car combined with the conversation he had been forced into having with his former guardian had resulted in a very bad mood. One that Naruto knew would end with him getting caught in it if he opened his mouth. Honestly, he had a little bit of trouble understanding the other's feelings about his car. It was an inanimate object. Not only that, but it was clearly replaceable. Cars weren't that expensive, at least by his understanding. Maybe it had been a gift of some kind?

They pulled into the parking lot of the cheap hotel that Naruto and Gaara had been staying at. The place looked like it had been built in the fifties and never been renovated. As the car pulled in it attracted the attention of a couple of street walkers that had claimed the portion of sidewalk in front of the hotel. It was not everyday that a nice looking car came into their territory. As Sasuke parked the car, Naruto opened the door and walked out. They had to stop back at the hotel to get his things as well as Gaara's. Naruto was too broad altogether to wear any of Sasuke's clothes. He stuck the little plastic card in the slot and went into the room, quickly gathering what he needed.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was left to fend off the garishly painted whores. The minute Naruto had left they had swarmed the car like vultures on a corpse. He kept the windows rolled up and glared whenever one of them would catch his eye. He had a feeling he knew why the car seemed to attract so many girls so fast. His guardian had been known for his looseness with money and his ferocious appetite before Iruka had come along. He was saved from the mobbing of himself in the car by the ringing of his phone. His left eyebrow made the climb nearly into his hairline as he looked at the caller ID. It was Anko one of the two detectives assigned the paranormal unit in the city police. He opened the phone after glaring at a whore who somehow thought popping her bright green gum was attractive.

"Sasuke," he said into the phone.

"Anko," the female detective's voice was harsh and clipped like she often was. "We need you to come down to the old William's place." She said and he could hear lots of talking in the background. Sasuke frowned. He knew the place; it was a common crack house that the city had been trying to tear down for years, but couldn't because of some nonsense about it being a historical site. Sasuke and everyone else knew that it was a load of bullshit cooked up by the biggest drug dealer in the city's minions so that his customers would have some place to hang out. "There's been a murder and it looks like vamps. A lot of them," she said into the phone. He sighed knowing that he was going to have to take the case. Sasuke turned to the passenger side door ready to yell at whatever whore had gotten ideas to get the hell out, only to find Naruto grinning at him.

"Do you mind if I bring a friend?" he asked knowing that it would not be a good idea to try and drop Naruto off somewhere. Naruto for his part looked interested in what was going on, but willing to wait for him to get off the phone for explanation. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone as Anko seemed to think about this.

"Fine. Just hurry up and get here," she said finally and hung up. He closed his phone knowing that was as close to good-bye as he was ever going to get. He knew about the odd superstition that detectives had about saying good-bye. They felt there was only one time you ever say good-bye and that was at your funeral. To say it earlier was to invite death to your door. He put the phone back in his pocket and turned over the ignition.

"We have another stop to make," Sasuke told him as he got back onto the main road. Naruto just watched him with his eyebrows raised. He put the last of the four duffel bags into the backseat as he waited for an explanation. "There's been a murder. Several, if what Anko was hinting at was true. I need to go and confirm and make sure that it's safe for them to move the bodies." Sasuke said after a few minutes. Naruto nodded and looked out the window. Sasuke stared at the road hard for a few minutes as a plan and idea began to form in his mind. "Would you mind coming in with me?"

Naruto started and turned around to look at the other. Surely he was joking. Even he knew it was a bad idea to invite a vampire in on an investigation involving vampires. Had Sasuke lost his mind along with his car? Sasuke felt the amusement turn into concern as Naruto thought and he wondered why he hadn't closed the link. He concentrated on it and found he couldn't. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't even tried to close it since the night before. And it hadn't been so bad, had it? He was cut short by the look the other was giving him.

"I'll take that as a no, then," Sasuke said as they drove towards the yellow police tape that was surrounding the sorriest looking house he had ever seen. The once grand house was barely standing, the porch and roof sunken in some places and not a single window held a pane of glass. Naruto sighed.

"That's not what I meant. I want to know why you would risk your career like that," Naruto said as he parked. Sasuke undid his seatbelt and turned to look at the other male.

"I'm not. I have to show the Elders that I can do my job, even if I am bound to a vampire. Not only that, but they need to get used to the idea of seeing you around. You probably know more about vampires than I do, and that is not something they can pass up," Sasuke said and got out of the car. Naruto grinned as he followed him. So he was thinking about them in the long term, even if it was in terms of his career. Sasuke flashed his ID at the blue shirt standing at the perimeter of the yellow tape and waited for him to get confirmation about whether he was to let the other in. The confirmation came in the form of a black haired, purple eyed detective in a pantsuit and trench, a lollipop stick hanging out of her mouth. The cop saw her coming and moved away quickly causing Naruto to wonder at the nature of this woman. She eyed the two of them up and down.

"Took you long enough, Uchiha," she said as he lifted the tape for them to enter. Sasuke snorted at her as he bent under the tape. Naruto followed suit and she trained her eyes on him. "Who's the blondie?" She asked moving the lollie to the other side of her mouth using just her tongue. Naruto grinned at her as he awaited his introduction.

"This is Naruto. I believe he may be able to help me," Sasuke said smoothly. Anko just nodded and motioned for them to follow her. She led them up a lawn that was mostly weeds and stopped just before she hit the porch. "The flooring in this place is bad, step where I step," she said before marching up the small step and onto the porch. They followed her into a house that was in worse shape on the inside than the out. Graffiti littered the walls and a combination of beer bottles and used condoms covered the floor. Naruto used his hand to cover his oversensitive nose as the smell of stale urine and feces, both human and non, hit it. The place was a maze of walls and doorways, the doors having long since been pried off in a search for things to loot.

The first thing Sasuke noticed about the room when they entered it was the feeling of the freshly dead. It was so fresh he could almost make out actual touches along his skin instead of the normal tingling. He took a moment to look around the room and calm himself from the need to use the dead there. The house had long since lost the use of electricity and the police had set up large flood lights to light the room. It was small, really more of a pantry than a room, with the rickety old wood flooring the rest of the house had. What caught his eye, however, were the bodies sprawled on the floor. There were two he saw, but he felt more. A blonde and brunette, female, naked and sprawled on top of each other. He went to move forward but was stopped by Anko, who held up a set of booties for over his shoes and a set of gloves. He took them and went to work putting them on before going to the bodies.

Naruto took the sets he was handed and went through the motions of putting them on, never once taking his eyes off Sasuke. This Sasuke was new, this business man. He looked at Anko and caught her watching him. She, too, had perfected the art of the single raised-eyebrow and was currently using it to remind him that he was supposed to be helping Sasuke, never mind the fact that the only time he had seen corpses had been in the battle field or after someone else's meal. An idea hit Naruto as he kneeled to where Sasuke was looking at the body.

Sasuke looked at the most obvious places on the blonde body for bite marks, the neck and the wrist, but found none. He frowned as the third place came to mind, a place he would never have looked before Naruto suggested using it. The body was still fresh enough that he was able to move it somewhat freely as he spread the creamy white thighs. He noted Naruto coming down next to him.

"I smell the left-over power from the feed," Naruto said as he wrinkled his nose. The smell was faint, but not from lack of power, but from the fact that whoever had fed had tried to cover the traces. Sasuke turned towards him, as Naruto continued to concentrate on the smell. Anko watched the two of them frowning. She had worked with Sasuke for the last six months, since she had transferred to the department really. She remembered how angry he had gotten whenever they had called in someone else to work with him. Just who or, she narrowed her eyes as she recalled the other's eye color, what was this Naruto? She started as Sasuke motioned her over and she squatted to join them in between the woman's thighs so she could see.

"There were two," Sasuke said pointing to the two sets of fang marks, one on each of her legs. He measured the difference in the two puncture wounds with his fingers to show her. The two bites were two different sizes, the space between the two fangs acting like a finger print. "They didn't just bite to feed, they drained them dry. I think the pattern will hold for the other 3 victims," he said in a monotone he had perfected over the years he had been doing this. He had left out the fact that Naruto had eventually picked up two different power scents and how that had led him to measuring the bites in the first place. Anko just nodded and wrote down what he said in a little pad of paper she always had on hand.

"Are they safe to move?" she asked him, her eyes flicking to Naruto's before back to him. He understood what she was asking. She wanted to know if they were going to rise again. That was usually the reason that the victims were drained dry, but Sasuke did not feel the gentle humming from the bodies that meant they were going to come back, and Naruto had not mentioned anything. It seemed that this had just been a very through feeding.

"No," Sasuke said rising and pulling his gloves off. Naruto followed suit and handed his gloves to the waiting lab tech. Anko nodded as she stood and motioned for the CSI crew to get to work. They followed Anko back out of the building and down the step. Naruto ended up in the lead as they headed out into the lawn, but Anko grabbed Sasuke's shoulder as he made to follow.

"Sasuke," she said as he looked up at her. She only used his first name when she was not talking to him about police business. "Be careful with that one," she motioned with her head to Naruto who was chatting up the blue shirt standing guard next to the yellow tape. "He's dangerous." Sasuke looked at her for a moment after she said that. Anko had good instincts, it was part of what made her such a good detective and he would never dismiss them out right. He smirked.

"I will," he said and shrugged out of her grip. He left her barking orders from the porch steps as he walked up to Naruto. Naruto grinned up at him as he approached.

"And that's my ride," he said by way of good-bye to the cop. The cop lifted the tape for the two of them and waved as they got back in the car. Naruto buckled his seatbelt before asking the question that was foremost on his mind.

"So, what was that all about, sunshine?" He said it in an overly cheery tone that betrayed none of the seriousness in his face. Sasuke looked up from doing his own seatbelt and found himself looking into very intense cobalt blue eyes.

"Nothing," he said evenly. "Anko was just giving me some friendly advice," he let his tone tell him that the subject was over as far as he was concerned. Naruto watched him for a moment before deciding to let it go.

"Whatever, sunshine, whatever you say."

* * *

Since is being a bitch tonight I'll reply to my reviews next chapter, which should be out by friday, and if not you can kill me. I will get back on track with this. 


	10. Chapter 10

a/n: Look, I got it out before midnight! And I roped in a beta! Everyone say hello to Aetos, he is the king of the semi-colon and commas.

No sleep

No sleep until I am done with finding the answer

Won't stop

Won't stop before I find a cure for this cancer

SometimesI feel I going down and so disconnected

Somehow

I know that I am haunted to be wanted

In the Shadows-The Rasmus

Orochimaru put his elbows on the desk as he looked at the young man standing across from him. He knew who he was; he had spoken with the Council enough to know the other's job description. That was why he had them lining the walls, his perfect children. The man in question really wasn't a man at all, but a half daemon the Council had hired to do their dirty work. He was tall, with long blonde hair that went to his waist, even pulled up in a pony-tail as it was. He wore a dark green t-shirt and jeans, both liberally stained with paint. The only signs of his daemon heritage were in the palms of his hands, which were hidden from view and clasped behind his back. He claimed he was there only in an advisory capacity, but Orochimaru knew that was just a polite way of the Council saying that they thought he could no longer hold his territory by himself, and couldn't risk loosing track of the Kyuubi and Shukaku.

"I want to make it clear that the only thing you will be doing during this fight is watching," Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the bored look he was shot. He thought that the Uchiha was an arrogant bastard, but he was nothing compared to the one that stood in front of his desk. At least Sasuke had always been polite.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard you to first dozen times, sheesh," the blonde said, rolling his eyes. He had his own mission from the Council, and he was going to see that it was carried out, even if he had to take out the vampire sitting across from him. Time was of the essence now- they had so very little before _She_ would be awakening.

* * *

They made it back to Sasuke's house with very little of the night left to spare. They had maybe an hour or so until the sun would be peeking over the horizon. Sasuke had taken the silent ride as a chance to think about something that been bothering him- he was throwing his support almost blindly at Naruto without so much as asking why Orochimaru had been after him in the first place. The more he thought about it, the more curious he became. He parked his car in the driveway, absently noting the lack of a pink corvette in the drive. It seemed Sakura must be spending the night elsewhere. The idea sent him some relief; maybe she was getting over her little obsession with him.

Naruto watched the other drive and think. He admired the way that he could concentrate on two things at once. He remembered when cars had first come out and how he had tried to learn to drive at the time. He had failed miserably, mainly because he couldn't do the required multi-tasking-that and the person who was teaching him had been much more interested in the amount of groping he could get away with while the blonde was distracted. It seemed like he blinked and they were back at his house. Naruto undid his seatbelt and turned so he could grab the duffels from the back. By the time he had gotten out of the car, Sasuke had already gotten out and was unlocking the door. Naruto caught up swiftly, and was at his back before the other pushed open the door.

Sasuke turned his body and reached for the knife hidden in the waist band of his pants; he hand the knife to Naruto's throat before the other could blink, his body set on autopilot. Naruto froze and went that unique still that only a member of the undead could go. His chest did not even bother going up and down. He felt the query through the link at what he was doing. He moved the knife away and twirled it around so he could put it back in his pants.

"Don't sneak up on me," he said as he pushed the door open. Naruto nodded, knowing that it was as close to an apology as he was going to get as he followed Sasuke inside. Sasuke put his keys on the small table next to the door that Sakura kept for that purpose and began walking to one of the guest rooms. He was going to order some more curtains to put up in there, because the idea of waking up to a corpse everyday was not appealing. He chose the one that was across the hall from Sakura's room and right next to his. Sakura and Naruto would have to share a bathroom, but they could get over it. "You can put your things in there," Sasuke said as he opened the door to the room.

Naruto stuck his head inside and was surprised at the amount of space. It was no where near as large as Sasuke's room, but it was spacious. There was a full bed against one of the walls and a night stand, each done in blonde wood. The bedspread was a soft green with orange and red leaves printed on it. There was a chest of drawers against another wall of the same wood and a small armchair sat in the corner. The walls were a soft beige. It spelled one thing to Naruto: homey. So, naturally, the first thing he did was to throw his bags at the chest of drawers and jump on the bed. Sasuke smiled at the antics- here was a 900 year old vampire jumping on the bed in one of his guest rooms. It was little surreal.

"Naruto," Sasuke said once he had stopped jumping and was laying spread eagle on the bed. Naruto rose up on his elbows and looked at him in inquiry. "Can I ask you something?" Sasuke moved from his place leaning against the doorway to the armchair.

"I believe you just did, sunshine," Naruto said, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "But shoot anyway." He fell back down on the bed in a resounding huff. Sasuke rolled his eyes at him. Naruto was coming through whatever it was that connected the two of them together as playful. Sasuke decided to label this emotion as irritating in his own mind.

"Why are they after you and Gaara?" Sasuke asked. All sense of playfulness died as Naruto heard the statement. Sasuke looked at him. He was oddly still for a few moments until he sucked in a deep breath.

"There are things that I have done…Things I had to do for my master. They were not pretty things," his voice was a whisper as he remembered some of the things. "But I was good at them." He sat up and looked at Sasuke. Sasuke felt his breath catch in his throat at the amount of sorrow that was in that gaze; it spoke of horrors that he could only dream of. "I'm not proud of it, but we all do things we don't like in order to survive. The other master vampires, the Councils, they all wish to make use of my unique talents along with Gaara," Sasuke rose as Naruto spoke and walked to the bed. He sat on the edge and leaned so that their shoulders were touching. He had never been good at receiving comfort, and he had never really had a chance to give it either, but he was trying.

"What talents?" he asked softly. Naruto turned to look at him; he embraced him and held on like a drowning man to a piece of drift wood. The amount of sorrow and self-loathing that was coming through the bond was scaring Sasuke, but he had to know. Something was telling him that he just had to.

"I've killed people-men, women, children; took the very breath from their lungs to use to slice them open," Naruto shuddered against him. Naruto was not sure why he was even telling him this. He was not under the power of the sharingan. He had not even told Gaara. The two of them had looked at each other on that boat heading to the New World and known. There had been no need for words. But here he was, not even trying to stem the flood from his lips. "I'm an elemental vampire. Most vampires derive power from age and only in the realms of mental manipulation. Elemental vampires can use the elements and grow in power at an exponential rate. We're a threat to them as long as we are not under their thumb," Naruto growled.

Sasuke stayed where Naruto had put him, up against his chest. It was a wonder in his mind that Naruto had managed to stay sane. No wonder he wanted Gaara back so badly; to the Council or any other master vampire they were nothing but trophies or glorified pets. The very idea sickened him. If he was learning one thing from all this, it was that vampires could be human too. He heard a soft beeping coming from his phone, and Naruto let him go enough to look at it.

"Naruto," Sasuke said as he learned what time it was. "You need to get to my room for a Rest." Naruto stood and followed after him on auto pilot; his mind was hundreds of years away reliving the horrors of his early years.

* * *

Naruto woke the next evening to the sound of a whet stone running over a blade. He didn't bother to open his eyes as he remembered the night before. He wondered what had possessed him to tell something like that to Sasuke. The man was a vampire hunter- he was probably disgusted with him and trying to plot out some way to kill him so that the world would be rid of him. Not that Naruto would blame him. The only thing that had prevented him from walking out into the sun some morning had been the knowledge that someone else would inherit his burden, and he could never live with himself if that happened. He opened his eyes and began coaxing the blood back into his extremities. The sight that greeted him was odd to say the least: Suigetsu was sitting on the trunk at the foot of the bed a large sword sitting across his lap.

"Sasuke will be glad you're up. It means that we'll have a chance for one last debriefing before we blow this popsicle stand," he said without ever turning around. Naruto was slightly creeped-out as he sat up. "I believe you have time for a shower before Sasuke decides to storm in here after you," he added after a moment. Naruto nodded to his back as he stood. A shower sounded good.

Sasuke knew the moment Naruto woke, it was like all the emotions from the bond suddenly switched to on. He actually broke off mid-sentence while talking to Karin. She tilted her head, curious as to the lapse. He shook his head as he felt the regret from the other; he wondered what would make him feel that way for a moment. He shook his head, yet again, to clear it, and picked up his conversation with Karin.

"Are you sure that no one's seen Sakura? I'm starting to get worried," and he was- Sakura was a grown woman and entitled to go wherever she wanted, but normally she called to tell him. This did not fit into her normal way of doing things and that had him worried. Karin just rolled her eyes at him.

"Please. She's probably just gotten her shag since laying eyes on your pretty face. I know I was like hell yes," Karin said sticking her tongue out. Sasuke made a face at her for the mental images. That was far too much information for him, he just wanted to make sure that she was alright. Juugo cleared his throat and they turned to look at him.

"I do believe I did not want to know that," Juugo said in a flat voice. It was a well known fact that Juugo had a thing for Sakura. Karin shot him an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Juugo-baby," she said as Naruto walking into the room in a pair of cargos and nothing else. He raised both eyebrows as he heard the apology. Sasuke looked him over briefly, suppressing the need to run over and touch him; it seemed the need to touch got stronger as time went on.

"Am I interrupting something?" Naruto asked looking around the room. They all shook their heads as Suigetsu followed him into the living room. He just grinned and continued to pet the overly large piece of metal like he thought it was going to talk to him.

"We ready to get this shit started?" Suigetsu asked. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and counted to a hundred. He had forgotten how it was to work with his fellows. He reminded himself that he needed them to pull this off. They sank into his living room furniture as he motioned for them to sit.

"Let's go over this one last time," Sasuke said pointing to the blue prints that sat spread on the table. Karin could always work wonders. Or, at least, he hoped so.

* * *

Reviews: It occurred to me that I missed 7, largely because fanfiction got rid of my formatting on eight. So 7, 8 and 9 will be here. I'm even sectioning them.

CH7-

Wakaran a i xx: I would never make Naruto choose between Gaara and Sasuke. We'll be seeing about the second mark soon enough.

cologate.advanced.fresh: I know, they make such a kawaii picture…

CloudyEros: Glad I had things how you liked them, and I'm not sure if that qualifies as a lime…

Nellie330: Glad you like the fact that Sasuke is not uber vampire.

HoshitheHorse: Glad you like the bite scene. I'm trying to show that Sasuke is coming around to thinking of Naruto as something other than something he's stuck with.

nymphadora1982: Glad you liked the little bit of NaruSasu action. There will be more.

Lady Laran: Glad you love my storyline.

Kamitra: YAY! One word reviews!

KrazyAce: LOL. Glad you were happy that there was action.

cogasha: I'm sorry for the slow updates. I try, I really do.

cfox: Gave you some Iruka and Kakashi, but there won't be a lot. This is mostly a NaruSasu story, afterall.

Kina-chan: No waking of the 'rents. They can get nasty. But I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much…

siriusfasha: And so they continue to develop. In inches, but it's there…

CH8-

Kina-chan: Unfortunately, Sakura is not feeling fangirlly at the moment. As nine tells us… Oh, and I've been planning the death of his car for quite some time. He's upgrading.

HoshitheHorse: Glad you enjoyed my mild attempt at humor.

RavenToriBlack: I'm trying to keep going…I must keep going…

siriusfasha: We shall save Gaara. That is the point of this arc. Lol. Sunshine comes from one of my friends. In middle school she was really gloomy so the teacher would call her that. I think it fits Sasuke very well. We get to learn a bit more about Sasuke's ability next chapter.

cogate xx: Glad you like the interaction…

cfox: I'm thinking about the lemon. Really, I am…

shirilyle: Glad you liked my attempt at humor.

Love-of-all-Anime: Glad you thought so.

Tirra Lirra: I got rec'd! (dances) I'm glad you caught the darker tone. I can't see anyone growing up in this world as innocent.

Roz-chan: Thank you for the alert. It makes me happy when I look at my alert list.

CH9-

Dragon77: I'm back. And for good if I have any say in the matter.

siriusfasha: Your comment made my day. Really, it did.

Jay-Jay51: Naruto's eyes are the most obvious thing, but they can be confused with the eyes of a fey. Which is why Anko doesn't point at him and yell vampire. The older vampires have learned to conceal their fangs in such a way that we can't see them unless they want us to. It comes from years spent trying to blend in.

kai- Anko just knows that some thing is different about Naruto and he's setting off her detective instincts is all. He's car is not fixed. It was totaled. He'll be getting a new one soon. I have plans in the works. And thanks for not wanting to kill me. At least until the story is over.

Mikra: Look I updated AGAIN!

BitterSweet27: The murders are actually the beginning of the second arc. As you will soon see.

shirilyle: Continuing on…

lightdark54: I updated-Look!


	11. Chapter 11

When we start killing

It's all coming down right now

From the life we've created

I want to be awakened somehow

(I want to be awakened right now)

When we start killing

It'll all be falling down

From the hell that we're in

All that we are is fading away

When we start killing

The Howling- Withing Temptation

She melted into the crowd easily. The security was tight around the ugly square building- men in bright yellow jackets and black pants, resembling angry bumblebees more than anything truly sinister. The squat grey building was the only man-made structure for miles and there were no roads leading to it. You had to know where it was to find it. The building and what went on within it were very illegal. Those that had a nose for finding both profit and blood had found that with the non-humans coming out into the open a very lucrative market in anything goes fighting matches had opened up. Want to see a vampire duke it out with your favorite type of lycanthrope? This was where you came-if you had the money and the contacts. And tonight the building was playing host to a very special event- an event that had the place sold out and promised a change in power structure for the whole area. She just prayed that what she had stuffed in her pockets would work. She knew what the last Uchiha truly was more than anyone and to loose him to a master vampire of Orochimaru's tastes was something she couldn't risk.

* * *

Naruto began to wish that the crazy woman behind the wheel had allowed Sasuke to drive, her car or not. The car was huge-a dark purple escalade complete with spinning rims that Karin wouldn't talk about how she had gotten. What made Naruto nervous enough to actually not look out the window was the fact that Karin seemed to drive using nothing but her tomtom. Her eyes never left it, not to look at the speedometer or even out the windshield. She wove around cars using the wonder that is military GPS pictures. Suigetsu, who was riding shotgun, mainly because of the fact that he had the hilt of his sword in one hand with it reaching all the way to the back window of the vehicle, was not helping matters. He was yelling at her that her driving sucked and so she began splitting her attention between the miracle of modern science and the elemental sitting near her.

Naruto had never been so glad to reach the blood clinic. The place was a donation station for newly minted vampires and a great place to grab a feed. Assuming one wasn't picky about just who they were biting. It was well known that the donors who frequented the clinics were bite junkies who got off on having their minds rolled. He got out of the SUV, Sasuke following suit a moment later. Sasuke was dressed in the manner of for-hire mercenaries and assassins: he wore a black turtle neck and black cargos. What surprised Naruto the most about the outfit was the silver cross that swung at the other's neck. It was a dainty, almost feminine, piece of jewelry on a man he was almost certain had no belief in a god of any kind. For one thing, it didn't glow and burn in Naruto's presence as it should for a devout follower he had been in his life.

"Are you going to feed or not?" Sasuke asked him from where he was standing on the steps into the building. Naruto would've blushed if he had had the blood left in his body to do it. He knew that Sasuke was aware of his curiosity about the jewelry, even if he couldn't catch the nuance of the fact he wondered why he wore as apposed to why it wasn't reacting in his presence. Naruto was next to the other a second later, Karin and the others opting to stay in the car for the fifteen minutes it would take to grab a feed.

Sasuke walked into the building and almost gagged on the overwhelming remains of power floating through the building. He found himself grabbing Naruto's arm and attempting to breathe through his mouth like the power was a stench. He felt the other's worry and then his understanding. Naruto rose his shields just enough to keep his ability to sense the power of other vampires out. He hadn't realized just how much the link between the two had grown. He found himself offering an apology silently as he headed towards the counter.

"Welcome to St. John's Clinic for vampires. My name is Rosa. How may I help you?" the receptionist's voice was professional with just a hint of a Spanish accent. She was human and smelt so very good to Naruto at the moment. She was, however, wearing a pair of expensive looking sunglasses with mirror tint. It was likely the only thing keeping her from being rolled on accident by Naruto and showed that the clinic knew just what they were doing.

"Yes, you can. I'm looking for a quick feed, preferably someone with some magical blood in them or a wer. Someone who hasn't been practically bled out would be wonderful," Naruto said flashing her a grin that had most women melting. She nodded and looked through her computer generated lists. One thing the clinics had learned early was the older vampires who came in would often give directions like this and they meant what they had said. They had only given them something other than what they had requested a few times. Those few times had resulted in bloody messes and the vampires being shot. The woman produced a card key that looked a lot like what you would get at a hotel.

"Someone will be along shortly to verify your feed," she said sounding chipper as she handed him the card with a large number 12 printed on it. By law feeds were required to be verified so that the donor could not later claim mind rape or that some thing else illegal had taken place during the feed. 

The ACLU had been good at allotting the non-human community basic law protections via lawsuits. Sasuke cleared his throat slightly to the left of the woman and she gave a startled jump.

"I'll verify his feed," Sasuke said showing her his hunting license. Rosa nodded at him as she typed something on her computer. She seemed satisfied with whatever she saw and smiled at the two of them.

"You're cleared. Enjoy your feed," she told the two of them as they disappeared down the hall on her left. The place was a sterile white and looked almost eerily like a hospital minus the rushing doctors and nurses. The only sound that could be heard in the halls was the squish that the rubber soles of their shoes made as they hit the linoleum of the floor. They came to door 12 and Naruto swiped the card. The door opened to reveal a green room with a large green couch in it and a smiling wide-eyed face. Naruto had to blink several times so that his eyes would adjust and make out that it was not a disembodied face and bowl haircut he was looking at, but a person wearing the same exact green as the room.

"My name is Lee, Rock Lee, and I'm going to be your donor, my youthful friend!" he said at nothing less than a shout. Naruto winced at the sheer volume and Sasuke glared. It figured the one time he had volunteered to go into the clinic and verify a feed it would be the most annoying dog wer in the city. Lee and his mentor and alpha, Gai Maitou, were the only dog wer in the city and both were Jack Russell terriers with personalities to match. Which meant they were loud, overbearing and had enough energy to power the entire state of Texas by themselves.

"Hi, Lee," Naruto said with a smile as he moved into the room, noting the annoyance radiating off Sasuke. He needed to get this done fast and not just because they had somewhere to be. "I'm in a bit of a hurry. Do you mind…?" Lee understood almost immediately, nodding with too much vigor and sitting down on the monstrously green couch, head tilted to one side to bare his neck. Naruto followed him down on the couch, summoning the minimum amount of power needed to roll the other's mind. It was just enough to make it so that the hyper young man would not feeling anything other than the touch of Naruto's lips on his neck as Naruto's fangs penetrated his neck and into the artery that flowed there.

For Sasuke this was the first feed Naruto had ever taken with the bond as open as it was without Sasuke being the donor. The experience was odd. He knew that he was leaning against the doorframe watching as Naruto fed, but he could also feel the blood filling the other's mouth, taste the overly copper tinge in the blood from Lee's high iron count. He could sense the sedation of a hunger deep within Naruto that he hadn't been aware he could feel. All of it coupled and coiled in him bringing a feeling very close to mimicking what he felt when he was rolled by the other. It was as he made the connection that something else rose within him, something that was very interested in this process.

Naruto had been intent on his feed until something akin to fire rushed over his skin and filled the room. It was ice cold, what Naruto would imagine immersing himself in dry ice would feel like, but it crackled and licked at him like a flame. He barely recognized the fact that it was coming from Sasuke and was reaching towards Lee through him. He pulled his lips from the donor's neck, sealing the holes quickly despite the whispering of the power rolling over his skin to take more. Lee noticed nothing off as he moved to take a nap against the couch, a little more drained than he could remember himself being.

"Sasuke," Naruto said as he rose and walked toward his human servant, startled to find that he seemed to be in some sort of trance with his eyes fully in the sharingan. He waved his hand in front of Sasuke and got no reaction. Frowning deeply, Naruto reached out to touch the other's face to find that Sasuke's reflexes were home even if he wasn't fully. He caught Naruto's arm and pulled him close, his other hand raising a silver knife to Naruto's heart. "Sasuke," Naruto repeated wondering just were the other had gone and feeling a little afraid. The cold fire that had been dancing over his skin earlier was roaring along it now like someone had turned down the temperature. It was painful now and was taking all of Naruto's years of practice not to move or call out in pain. "Come on, Sunshine, this isn't funny," he said hoping he could get through to him.

Sasuke blinked as one word made its way into his mind, past the hazy cocoon that his power had wrapped him in. Oddly, it was the horrid nickname that Naruto had sort of given him. It was like someone had flicked a switch in him; one second he was deep within his power and the next he was face to face with a very concerned Naruto. He dropped the knife like it was hot and let go of Naruto's arm. Naruto completed the gesture he had started earlier, touching the other's face and running his thumb just under his eye.

"Hey, Sunshine, you okay?" Naruto asked as he felt the tension that was in his own body drain out at the feel of the other's skin under his hand. Sasuke gave him calm, gave him control. Sasuke, however, was still pulling himself out of whatever trance it was he had entered into. He reached up and covered the hand on his face for a second and just breathed. Sasuke ran through his internal check points, finding nothing amiss. Actually, he felt like he had slept for three weeks and eaten an entire feast. It was wonderful.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said stepping away from the other as an idea of just what could've happened began to spark in his mind. He prayed it wasn't so as he made to walk out of the room. They had an appointment to keep. "Come on, I don't want us to be late," he said as Naruto followed behind him not at all satisfied by the answer Sasuke had provided him with. Something was going on under the surface and he wanted to know why the other felt the need to keep it from him.

* * *



Juugo lit a cigarette as he stood outside a diner watching what looked like any number of other pharmaceutical plants in the area. But this building, he knew, was different. True, it put out some of the best psychoactive drugs in the industry and was known for being extremely secretive about the whole process. What most didn't know was that it was the daytime resting place for the Lord of the City and just about every vampire in the whole city. It was here, underneath the concrete, that Gaara was being held. And Juugo's job, both as simple and complex as it was, was to wait until the fight had started and then go down into the belly of the beast to find this Gaara. They had decided he would be the one to do this because of the simple fact that his demon blood made it very hard to kill him. One would have to dose him in holy water, get him on consecrated ground and exorcise him.

He put out his cigarette on the wall of the diner behind him as he felt someone come up next to him. He looked at the person out of the corner of his eye for a second before turning, one hand in his coat pocket caressing the handgun hidden there. It was loaded with silver bullets, not lethal to vampires by any means, but it would make the vampire heal human slow. He studied the other and came to the conclusion that he was looking at a vampire. It was the only reason he could think of for someone who looked fifteen years old to be here at sunset.

"Can I help you?" Juugo asked, immediately wary. The sun was just a sliver on the horizon and most vampires would just be getting out of bed. Only the truly powerful vampires would be awake before that. The vampire tilted his head to the side, red hair covering eyes that were an odd shade of green. If not for the fact that the vampire had no tattoo on his forehead he almost could've mistaken him for Gaara.

"I do believe that question should be reversed," he said, voice oddly deep for the age at which he had been turned. "I do believe I shall be aiding you this night, slayer." He reached into his pants pocket and Juugo couldn't help but tense. Something was not right here. "There are those that would like to see Orochimaru dead even within his own," he told Juugo softly as he handed him a folded piece of paper. "It's a map of the Lord of the City's resting place. You should find it useful." The vampire turned to leave, seemingly done with whatever it had come to do. Juugo held the map in his hand trying to understand the motivation for this. No vampire would risk handing a slayer an accurate map of the day time resting place just because they didn't like the Lord of the City. There was too much risk that the slayer could come back to finish all the other vampires that sleep there. The vampire had just about stepped out of the light provided by the diner when he stopped. "Consider this a warning, slayer. Should the Kyuubi and his servant win this night, you may soon find yourselves under the watch of more than one council. Time is running short and those who know it are making preparations," with that said he stepped out into the freshly fallen darkness and disappeared.

* * *

The ride to the place where the fight was to take place was considerably easier on Naruto's nerves. This was not because Sasuke was driving or even because Karin had seen the error of her ways behind the wheel. Oh, no. It was because of the fact that there were no longer any cars for them to worry about hitting. There was just endless desert and night sky. There was, however, still something off about Sasuke. He was one of those people whose expressions could be read in the type of silence produced. The silence he was producing now was a kind of worried thoughtfulness that had Naruto starting to worry himself. It didn't help that there was spill over from the connection they shared.

"Sunshine," Naruto said leaning a little so that Karin and Suigetsu in the front could not hear what he was saying. He knew that Sasuke didn't care for the nickname and would not like it the others picked it up. "You need to stop worrying so much or we both are going to be a mess of nerves by the time we make it there," Naruto told him in a neutral tone of voice. Sasuke merely turned to him and glared. Naruto did not have to worry that he was some kind of vampire by proxy. No, he knew where he stood in the way of powers. He had had centauries to make peace with what he was.

"I am not worried," Sasuke hissed at Naruto, leaning in so that the only thing between the two of them was the sword. He was so absorbed in the fact that he wanted Naruto to leave him alone to think out a solution to the latest complication in their odd relationship that he failed to notice that Karin and Suigetsu had stopped bickering and were watching the two of them. Naruto, however, noticed and decided that he would save the other the embarrassment that would come from those two overhearing their conversation.

"Whatever you say," Naruto said and leaned back against the seat, eyes on the desert outside his window. Sasuke made that neutral noise that Naruto was learning was his answer to everything that he didn't want to talk about. He just hoped that Sasuke would have himself together by the time the fight started. Naruto was already handicapped by a hundred years- he didn't need a human servant that wasn't one hundred percent to add to it.

* * *

Temari jerked awake in her hospital bed, sitting up straight drenched in sweat. Her chest was heaving as her lungs tried to suck all the air around her in at once. Her only thought was that she had to warn Naruto and his friends. Something had gone horribly wrong and she had to tell them. She reached for the nurse call button, only to be stopped as two people entered her room. She recognized Shikamaru and Neji from when she had gone on her rampage before. Shikamaru walked over to where she was on the bed and began removing the monitoring equipment while Neji watched the doors.

"What's going on?" Temari asked, afraid of the answer. She had to find a way to get in contact with Naruto. Shikamaru sighed as he helped her up. The hospital had been kind enough to return what was left of her clothing to her so that she didn't have to spend the entire time clad only in hospital gown. This meant she was in a pair of jeans and a zipped up jacket.

"I'm not entirely sure," Shikamaru said keeping his voice low as he spoke. Neji looked almost nervous as he watched the hallway. "Neji got some kind of phone call and said that we needed to get you somewhere urgently." Temari frowned as she looked at Neji. Naruto's little human servant seemed to trust him, but was he really trustworthy? She stood and moved so that she was near the door.

"I need to get a hold of Naruto. They've moved Gaara," Temari said looking at something that no one could see. Shikamaru and Neji shared a look over her shoulder.

"I'll see what I can do," Neji said motioning for the two of them to follow him. He was going to have to push things for them to be on time as it was. If only his cousin had managed to give them more warning. He shook his head as they walked down the hall. He knew how temperamental her gift was, and it was wrong of him to wish that it was more perfected. He already knew the price she was paying for the little control she did have over it.

* * *

Sasuke stood in the dirt next to the entrance to the building the fight was going to take place in. The roar of the crowd that had gathered was barely dulled by the walls. Karin and Suigetsu had taken off to help Juugo seconds ago, leaving Sasuke and Naruto in front of the building. Sasuke couldn't help the nerves that had settled in the pit of his stomach. Most of the time when he had managed to get a warrant for a vampire's execution the fight took place in an alley somewhere, or wherever else he had managed to catch them unawares. Never had he had much of a true audience like the one he could hear- hungry for blood, anticipating the death of one set of contenders this night.

"C'mon," Naruto said putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Let's get this over with, sunshine." Naruto found himself wondering, not for the first time, if he would spontaneously combust if he tried to pray. This was Orochimaru's area and he had several advantages over Naruto. But Naruto had never lost a fight in his life, not one that counted at any rate, and he was not going to begin now. Not when so much was riding on this fight.

They were greeted at the door by a smartly dressed woman by the name of Regina, who it turned out ran the establishment. She took them directly to the side of the concrete platform that served as the fighting arena. It was barely an inch off the floor and only three feet from the hard metal bleachers that served as the seating. There were no barricades between the arena and those sitting in first row. If someone went flying you had a good chance of getting hit by the body. Naruto shook his head and wondered just what kind of crazy you had to be to want to sit there. Orochimaru was already standing across from them with Kabuto next to him. Both wore identical evil grins that could bring fear to a berserker. The woman left their side and stood in the middle of the concrete, eliciting a roar from the crowd as a microphone was lowered.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," she said as the crowd grew quiet. "I have for you tonight an event the likes of which has never been seen before and will likely never be seen again. On this side," she pointed with one perfectly manicured hand, "I give you Orochimaru, Lord of the City of Dallas. On this side, challenging for the title, I give you Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi." She motioned for both parties to step so that they were on either side of her. "Normally, this is the bit where I give the rules," her smirk here was cruel. "But there aren't any." Her words were accompanied by a roar from the crowd. She backed off the platform, taking the microphone with her. "Fight!" she yelled over the roar of the crowd.

The beginning was dull for the crowd, both parties backing off to watch each other. Sasuke pulled out a knife the size of his forearm as he circled, attempting to watch both Kabuto and Orochimaru. Naruto stood still as he pulled his power inward, the smell of woods and the outdoors almost stifling. A wind that had no real source tousled clothing and hair in the building. It was followed by something that almost had Sasuke shuddering. It felt as though hundreds of snakes were rubbing against his skin and the smell reminded him of nothing so much as burnt rubber. Kabuto decided to take advantage of the fact that Sasuke was distracted by the power as it flowed through the room, and lunged for him. Sasuke barely managed to block the downward chop that had been aimed for his neck.

It was like Kabuto's movement had started a chain reaction as Naruto moved to take out Orochimaru with a fierce slice of wind. Orochimaru's power was waiting and shielded him seconds before it could connect. Naruto could feel it as Orochimaru reached out with his power in an attempt to overwhelm Naruto's senses. Naruto reacted by bringing his hand to his mouth and running one fang across his skin, the pain of loosing a layer of skin enough to fight off Orochimaru's first attempt. Naruto moved forward, looking up from his hand to lock eyes with his enemy. The true fight would be here- in seeing who could roll the other. Physical fighting was not the show of power that rolling the other was.

Sasuke was panting as he moved. Kabuto had barely let up in his attack, forcing Sasuke into a strictly defensive position. Sasuke was reacting as best he could, looking for some way to force an opening. Kabuto was quick, and he had learned that his hands were by no means blunt. He was sporting several tears in his clothing from were Kabuto had come close to landing a hit. It seemed Kabuto had some sort of power that allowed him to use energy to create s lethal edge to objects. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion that if he wanted to create an opening he was going to have to take one of those hits. Course of action decided on, he left himself open on his left side, just below his ribs. Kabuto took advantage of that, slicing open Sasuke's side, as Sasuke grabbed his arm with his free hand and brought his blade across the other man's throat. Blood gushed onto him, warm and hot. Kabuto reached up trying in vain to stem the bleeding from his throat. Sasuke let Kabuto fall to his knees as he jammed the blade between two vertebras in the neck, insuring that Kabuto would not get up and interfere.

Naruto, on the other hand, was not having as good a time as Sasuke. He was currently fighting tooth and nail not to sink further into the puss yellow of Orochimaru's eyes. He could hear the other vampire's taunting voice in his head. He was being forced to pump an ungodly amount of power into his shields and still Orochimaru was forcing his way into his mind. _Give up_, he could hear the other sneering in his mind. _There's no way you can win. Sasuke is mine. _Those words sparked a rage in Naruto he had never felt before. Sasuke was no one's. No one could _own _a human being. He was proof of that and he would be damned before he let someone try to own someone he cared about. The rage was enough to break the other's hold on him and Naruto snarled at Orochimaru.

"You can't own someone," Naruto spit out as the other fell to his knees. From the smell of fresh blood, it seemed that Sasuke had managed to dispatch Orochimaru's human servant. As he fell, Orochimaru gave a signal to his people in the crowd. He smirked evilly as Naruto moved to close the deal and kill him.

"Tell me, Naruto, if you had to choose between Shukaku and this crowd, who would you choose?" Orochimaru asked, licking his lips and hissing laughter like an overly large snake. Naruto gave him a look of confusion as the first scream hit the air. He turned to find that Gaara, face completely crazed with Lust, had been let loose on the crowd. Panic began to infest the crowd as they realized there was nothing between them and the insane vampire. The yellow and black clad security forces were practically being slaughtered as they tried to prevent Gaara from feeding.

Sasuke let out a string of curses that would've made a sailor blush as he saw Gaara move to go after the crowd. This was what they had been hoping to prevent by having Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo there to incapacitate Gaara. Sasuke looked at Naruto and saw his horror stricken face. Without thinking he was next to him and dispatching Orochimaru like he had been taught. He had been forced to leave one of his longer blades in the back of Kabuto's neck, so he was forced to use the blade along his spine to beheading the laughing bastard. He then stuck the blade through the vampire's heart, one hand reaching for the cross around his neck. In one smooth motion he thrust it into the cut, ignoring the burn as Orochimaru burned from the inside out in seconds.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he looked up to from his task to find him paralyzed. Naruto was being torn in two different directions: Gaara was his friend, Lust crazed or not, and he didn't want to hurt him, but there was also the people in the crowd who did not deserve the painful death that would await them if Gaara wasn't stopped. Sasuke walked over to him and slapped him across the face hard. "Pull your shit together, Naruto! We can't let him take down the crowd." Naruto swung his eyes to look at his human servant.

"You known I can't kill him! What do you want me to do?" Naruto asked moving to keep up with the other. Sasuke wasn't going to waste anymore time talking. Gaara had managed to drain two of the security personal and had managed to grab the arm of a young teenager.

"Trust me," Sasuke told Naruto as he hit a pressure point on Gaara's arm forcing him to drop the screaming girl. The second she was let go, she took off into the crowd running. Gaara turned glowing, unfocused eyes onto Sasuke clearly tempted by two things: Sasuke was covered in blood from both Orochimaru and Kabuto, and the fact that Sasuke was bleeding from where Kabuto had managed to land a hit. He lunged at Sasuke, more power than any kind of finesse, and both ended up on the ground. Sasuke was forced to drop the knife in order to catch the set of fangs aiming for his face. Gaara may not of remembered so much as how to breathe, but he was still just as powerful, if not more so because of the Lust, and Sasuke was rapidly loosing the fight to keep Gaara off him. He used his legs to try to kick Gaara off him, but it seemed pain didn't register in his Lust clouded mind.

Naruto watched in horror as his human servant and best friend ended up on the concrete. He wanted neither one of them to end up dead, so his body reacted before his mind could really catch up. He grabbed Gaara by his shoulders and threw him off Sasuke and into the now cleared out bleachers. He reached down to offer Sasuke a hand up, only to be slammed into as Gaara rushed him from the side. The fight was much more evenly matched than the one that Sasuke and Gaara had been fighting. Naruto was on top one second, only to be rolled over as Gaara gained the upper hand. Both were snarling and snapping fangs at the other because of the fact that Naruto was afraid to use his power on the other.

Sasuke sat in what was rapidly becoming a pool of his own blood, hand clenching over his ribcage as he tried to stem the flow. It seemed that when Gaara and he had ended up on the ground it had broken something there. He knew that the wheezing sound of his breathing was not a good thing. He watched the fight that was going on in front of him and fought down the overwhelming feeling of helplessness. There was no way he could do anything to help in this condition. He gritted his teeth as standing up jarred his side. He had to try to do something, anything. Then, standing there is was like a light bulb went off in his mind. He was a necromancer, a lord of the dead. In the fight that had been so similar to what he did as a slayer he had forgotten.

An all too familiar smirk on his face, Sasuke practically ripped off the shields covering his power. He felt it roll along his skin, a burning cold that dropped the temperature around him to the point where his breath was coming in a white fog. He knew what it was- it was the chill of death. But he wasn't even thinking about the fact that the blood was crystallizing on his skin. He was reaching his power out for Gaara. He walked so that he was next to the two of them, Naruto on top this time, his mind so deep in his power he couldn't feel the pain from what he thought was a broken rib. He reached one hand out to the snapping vampire, resting it on Gaara's chest. The second that his fingers touched against Gaara is was like he knew what to do. Sasuke didn't think about it as he poured his power into Gaara like he was an empty bathtub he was trying to fill with water. He vaguely noted the fact that Gaara had stopped struggling and Naruto had moved so Sasuke had better leverage.

Naruto was stunned. One second he had been fighting what he knew was a loosing fight seeing as he was unwilling to kill the other, the next Sasuke had showed up and started pumping Gaara full of power. Naruto moved so that he was sitting on Gaara's waist and watching as Sasuke worked. Covered as he was in the frozen blood, the breath escaping Sasuke's lips in ghosts of steam, Naruto felt that he had never seen something so beautiful. True it wasn't beautiful the way most things were. No, he was beautiful in the way blood patterned on freshly fallen snow was- the way winter was beautiful in its lack of life. Naruto reached out to touch the other, to offer his own power to be used and found himself being sucked down into some kind of hungry vortex. It wasn't just taking the power he had offered- it was going to drain him dry. The feeling was very similar to the power he had encountered at the clinic.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said as he began to panic. He couldn't pull himself out of the power drain. He got no response as the other continued to do what he was doing with no regard for what was going on around him. Naruto decided to try what had worked before and began calling him by his nickname, but still got no response. Desperately, Naruto tore down every shield between him and Sasuke, forcing his panic to slam into Sasuke's mind.

Sasuke gasped like it had been a physical blow as the connection between him and his power broke. He slumped forward onto Gaara's body as his own gave out. He felt like death that had been warmed over in a low wattage microwave. Nothing seemed to want to respond to him, and there was a stabbing pain in his chest with every breath he took. But what was truly unnerving to him was the pure panic that filled every ounce of his being. He had never felt anything like it in his life. So, he welcomed the darkness as it surrounded him and he passed out.

* * *

Reviews:

Halskr: Kyuubi is like Naurto's title. It's a way of telling everyone that he is both a rogue and an elemental vampire. It was given to him by his creator as something to replace his name. Thanks for adding me to your favorites. XD It's a big compliment.

lL0tus: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I agreee to the bit about Sakura's obsession being her downfall. I'm also pleased to tell you that there will be no Gaara/Lee pairing in thsi story. There may be a Neji/Gaara pairing at some point, but it won't be a marjor plot point in this story. (Maybe they'll get there own spin off?) Naruto's past lover was Sai, so don't expect him to be showing up anytime soon.

Mikra: Glad you liked it.

cologate XD: I updated! And holy smokes! It's over 6,000 words!

shirilyle: We'll be finding out what happened to Sakura next chapter, as well as what was up with Temari and such. I think this chapter answered the rest of your questions.

Dragon77: Glad you liked the update. I'm sorry this one took so long. I just hated the actual fighting parts and had to rewrite them so many times. Urgh.

KrazeyAce: I hope you still like where I'm going. Thanks for the review.

Chronos Guardian: Glad you think it's wonderful. And, lo, I am continuing.

shadowphoenix143: Thanks for the wonderful review. I'm glad that I managed to get the emotions of the characters across. It's hard to do sometimes...

5DOOD: Here's your update. Enjoy!

mimifoxlove: Hope you got some sleep. Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you enjoy the few pieces of Buffy that show up here.

Kami Kaze: I'm glad you like my characterization. I beleive that in order for the story to be believable you have to take the characters as they are and spit them out as how they would react to the situation, not change them to fit the situation. Thanks for the cupcakes! I love cupcakes.

animeluver456123: I offer you what happens next? Lol. The next chapter should be out soon.

Rawr-Loves SasUKE-: Look! I added a chapter. There should still be much more to come. I've only just sunk my fangs into this one.

astoroche: Glad you have fallen in love with my story. Your review made me smile and realize that I had forgotten about this. Thanks so much for the review!


	12. Chapter 12

A/n: I never thought I would actually have to put one of these up, but after being beaten by my friend who absolutely hates, and I mean HATES, spoilers I have to put this up. Beware, there are character spoilers. I'm not going to point out what they are if you want to keep reading so that you can be surprised when the manga comes to that point, but they are there. 'Nough said.

Put all your angels on the edge  
Keep all the roses, I'm not dead  
I left a thorn under your bed  
I'm never gone

_I Walk Alone_ by Tarja

Sasuke stood. He wasn't aware of how he knew that he was standing seeing as he could not tell the difference between up and down, left and right to begin with. Everything was dark, not black, but a true absence of color. In it there was a chill that ran along his skin and into him. Looking he saw nothing. Fear began to fill him, as he looked inside himself for Naruto, for anyone really, and found nothing. There was no deep blue interwoven in his own power, no presence buzzing in the back of his mind. There was nothing.

"You won't find him here," a voice curled around him. Sasuke whipped toward where he thought that the voice was coming from, the smell of something burning thick in the air. He watched as something formed from the nothingness around him. Lips the color of blood the starting piece and he was struck with the odd idea of the Cheshire cat from _Alice in Wonderland_. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked at the woman standing before him. Her skin was white, not like his, but the white that a corpse turned as the blood pooled to other parts of the body. Her hair was pin straight and candy apple red, a color totally unnatural on a human. It was her eyes, though, that had him backing up and wishing he was alone again. They were the color of blood as it ran fresh from one's veins, completely and totally devoid of any kind of emotion. It was like looking into the eyes of a doll- a doll that was alive and saw you as prey.

"What are you?" Sasuke found himself asking, a terror the likes of which he had never felt began to pour into his veins. The figure licked her lips, almost like a predator tasting the air. She tilted her head to the side, her hair moving as though she were in the water, floating around her in a grisly halo like so much blood.

"I have many names, my dear Uchiha," she told him, one second in front of him, the next close enough he could feel the chill of her breath on his neck. "She-Who-Comes-With-The-Twilight. Mother-Of-All-Darkness. However, you may call me Kushina." Her features twisted into a parody of coyness that was more frightening than anything else as she looked at him from under dark lashes. Her name, once spoken, hung like a lead weight in the air between them. When Sasuke said nothing, she looked at him, her expression perfectly conveying confusion like an actor that knew their art so well.

"You fear me, Uchiha," she placed her ice cold lips on his neck and it took all his self control not to pull away from the burning freeze. Something in him, something primal in the back of his mind that had managed to stay with humanity through all its evolution, told him not to move. It told him that he was in the presence of something deadly and that it would strike at the first sign of fear. "Why?" she asked running a freezing tongue along the vein in his neck- the same one Naruto had used not two nights ago to give him the first taste of the pleasure that could be a vampire bite.

"You're not human," he said speaking the truth and suppressing the fear that was almost choking him from years of practice. He was Uchiha, and one thing his parents had managed to teach him before they left to join the dead was that you never showed your emotions to anyone. "I don't know what you are, but you aren't human. You portray it so well, but something is missing." He held his breath, waiting for her reaction to his statement. The tongue removed itself from his neck, and to his surprise he heard laughter. It raised the hair on the back of his neck and slid along his skin the same way Naruto's power did. It was cold, numbing the skin it caressed almost instantly.

"So then, my little attempt at playing human for you has failed. I see no reason then to hide what I am," as Kushina spoke it was like her skin, her body, flittered away on some unfelt wind leaving only her eyes and the sensation of something being there. "You are so unique, you Uchiha. Most would be willing to let me play human, but you point it out like a fault." Her voice was beautiful, yet somehow dead. It was like listening to the best singer in the world- only they lacked passion of any kind. She ran her tongue over the vein again and somehow Sasuke knew something was different. Her hand gripped the back of his head harshly as she let out a hiss and forced his head to the side.

"Who dares? Who dares to mark what is mine?" she asked, eyes coming alive in annoyance. Seeing them so had Sasuke wishing dearly for the dispassion from before. Her annoyance was not human; it ran deeper and darker than any human emotion could. It was as she spoke now that he was able to catch a glint of the two fangs that rested within the darkness that was serving as her body. The knowledge that she was vampire should've been comforting; he had been dealing with them for most of his life. Instead it added a new dimension to his fear. He knew nothing of a vampire that acted like this, that could do the things that this one was implying. It was impossible.

He saw her speaking again, but could not make out the words. It was like he was under water watching someone on the surface. Suddenly, he was sucked from there to elsewhere. His gaze was fogged, but he could make out shouting and swore for a second he saw Shizune leaning over him. She was talking to him, but he couldn't make out the words, only watch her lips move. None of his body parts was willing to respond. It was like they were filled with lead.

"Mine!" Kushina's voice rang through his ears and he was sucked back into the darkness with her. His eyes flickered to her as her face was millimeters from his own. "You are mine, Uchiha! No one else can have you!" She moved then to bite him, to cover the same place Naruto had used to mark him. He moved as that primal part of his being demanded, jerking his head away from her. He knew that anything she did here would somehow reflect on the real world.

She howled in rage and her fingers breaking skin from where she had a grip on the back of his neck. He let out a scream from the pain that had his knees buckling. Kushina laughed then, a cruel mocking amusement. Her eyes moved to the side like she was listening to something he couldn't hear. "Very well, Uchiha. It seems your healer has bought you time, but be warned: we are not done here." She put what felt like a hand to his chest and threw him backwards through the darkness and he knew no more.

* * *

Naruto sat in the white sterile environment of the hospital and wondered if he should start paying rent with the amount of time he was spending in it. The lights were off in the room, and the observation curtains were drawn. Sasuke lay on the bed, gauze wrapped around his chest from the surgery that they had to perform in order to pull his broken rib out of his left lung and stitch it back up. They had been lucky that that strange woman had shown up when she did.

Naruto ran his thumb over the knuckles of Sasuke's right hand, the one without the IV in it, as he thought. He had panicked when he couldn't pull Sasuke out of whatever trance he had been in and then when he had just collapsed like that with no pulse… Naruto had just about opened a vein then and broken another one of the Rules that he and Gaara followed; he had almost made Sasuke vampire. Just as he had been about to make the slice on his wrist bigger she had been there, a vision in soft white. She had shook her head and pulled out what looked like overly long post-it notes with some writing Naruto couldn't read on them. She had put one on Sasuke's forehead and another on his heart, and he had started breathing then.

Naruto had barely managed to get a thank you out before Shikamaru, Temari and Neji came bursting through the wide open doors. Temari had immediately opened a wrist for Gaara, who was amazingly calm for being in full Lust, and fed him enough to tie him over until they got him to a hospital. Shikamaru and Neji had started first aid on Sasuke as Naruto had tried pumping what power he could into him. Once they had heard the police sirens, it seemed someone had managed to notify the police that a rouge vampire was on the loose, they had put him into the car and sped to the hospital.

Naruto had been so worried then, because Sasuke may have been breathing, but he couldn't get any kind of response out of him no matter what he tried. He couldn't even enter his mind through the link that they shared. When they arrived at the hospital Naruto had almost refused to let the nurses and doctors have Sasuke for fear that if they were separated the 

link between them would snap completely. The doctors had been lucky that Shizune was one of the doctors in the ER that night. She had screamed at the top of her lungs that the first person who tried to separate the two of them would be short one license to practice medicine. Naruto had let them treat Sasuke then, never more than a few inches away. He knew that it annoyed the other doctors, but he had never been so scared in his life. He had even had to scrub in for the surgery like a doctor to stay in the same room.

So now, Naruto sat in the hard plastic chair, fighting off the need to Rest and waiting for Sasuke to wake up. Shizune had just left a couple of minutes ago after telling him that Sasuke's fellow slayers had showed up with a very injured Kankuro. It made Naruto happy to know that Gaara was going to have both of his human servants, but his happiness was overshadowed by Sasuke laying on the white bed, looking for all the world like he was asleep.

Naruto looked up as one of the machines monitoring Sasuke began to make a loud beeping sound and the smell of burning flesh hit his nose. He looked up at Sasuke's face and saw it twisted in pain. Naruto began looking for where the smell of burning flesh was coming from, finding it on the back of Sasuke's neck just as the nurses and Shizune came in. Shizune looked a little worn around the edges and she had dark bruises under her eyes from her lack of sleep the past night.

"Talk to me, Naruto," she said shoving the sleeves of her lab coat up past her elbows and pushing the nervous nurses out of the way. She was the only doctor who was willing to treat what many people called the freak cases, the cases that were paranormal in nature. It was a risky business treating those that sometimes weren't even sure what was happening themselves. Each year since the beginning of the paranormal civil rights movement around three doctors ended up dead due to some kind of freak accident.

"Something's burning him," Naruto said putting his own flesh against the burn. He knew that his flesh was cooler than any human's at its hottest running temperature and it was all he could do to keep the burn from going deeper. Shizune began issuing orders to the nurses around her. Naruto began trying to pour what was left of his power into Sasuke in an attempt to heal the burn as it went. It was then that Sasuke let out a scream of pure agony, startling everyone in the room for a second. Naruto put his knee on the side of the bed and leaned over to see that Sasuke was awake and looking at him, the pain swimming in his eyes.

"Sunshine," Naruto whispered almost feeling a click as the connection between the two of them opened again like a flood gate. Naruto moved his hand out of Shizune's way as she began to work, never leaving eye contact with Sasuke. Naruto could feel the other's silent plea as the pain grew and he refused to loose consciousness. Naruto pulled his power in and proceeded to roll Sasuke's mind. His power was just the faintest breeze in the room, bringing relief as it rushed over Sasuke's skin and into his mind. It was light, just enough to cancel out the pain of the burn. The tightness around Sasuke's eyes were gone and the smell of burning flesh stopped just as suddenly as it began.

"I've done all I can, Naruto," Shizune said peeling off a pair of gloves coated in some kind of clear gel. "I'll send down a burn expert. We're going pump him full of morphine for the pain. I'm not sure how he managed to get through the first dose…" As she spoke a nurse made a move to put a needle full of some clear liquid into the IV stand. Naruto let out a low growl as Sasuke began shaking his head back and forth furiously. The young nurse swallowed hard and looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She was clearly scared of Naruto and what he could possibly do.

"I can assure you, doctor, that he is in no pain," Naruto said fudging a little. Sasuke would only be in no pain so long as Naruto kept him rolled and Naruto was already low on energy as it was. At some point Sasuke was going to have to take the pain medication whether he wanted to or not. Naruto was already fighting with the urge to lie down next to him and Rest. Shizune frowned at him, clearly suspicious. She waved the nurse off and she practically ran out the door in her haste to leave the room.

"If," Shizune said gesturing the other nurses out, "he should end up feeling any kind of pain all you have to do is press the call nurse button." She pointed to the red button on the clicker attached to the side of the bed as she spoke. She was gone in sweep of her lab coat, clearly unhappy with how things were. Naruto climbed the rest of the way onto Sasuke's bed, straddling his waist and pressed his forehead onto Sasuke's despite the oxygen mask.

"Well, damn, Sunshine," Naruto said looking into Sasuke's black eyes, "You sure know how to wake up emotions I thought had long since died." Naruto wasn't just talking about the fear he had felt. He was talking about the overwhelming relief he was feeling at the knowledge that Sasuke was still alive, the way his heart had ached at the thought that he might not wake. Sasuke just smirked under the clear, plastic mask, but it quickly faded.

"Naruto," he said voice sounding odd through the hollow plastic. He frowned as though he found the plastic offensive and raised the hand without the IV in it to push it to the side. "What happened? The last thing I remember is you and Gaara going at it and I was down with a broken rib." Naruto pulled his forehead back and sat back on his heels so that he wasn't putting pressure on Sasuke's injuries.

"I don't know what you did, but you somehow managed to pump enough power into Gaara to get him stable for when Temari showed up. You passed out and some woman came out of nowhere and covered you in healing seals," Naruto explained softly. Sasuke nodded and winced as it stretched the skin across his burn. Feeling it helped to remind him how he might have gotten it.

"Naruto, do you know anyone by the name of Kushina?" As he said the name there was flash of red eyes in his mind and Naruto sucked in a deep breath. The stench of something that had been burnt was strong enough to make Sasuke's eyes water. Naruto leaned forward in response to the smell so that his face was in the crook of Sasuke's neck and the smell of woods that was purely Naruto was enough to chase it away. Sasuke opened his mouth to ask what happened but was interrupted by what sounded like the voice of a small child.

"It is not wise to speak the name of the Mother-of-All-Darkness aloud. There is power in the name of the ancient ones," she said like she was telling him something that everyone was supposed to know. Naruto leaned up, taking his scent with him. Sasuke muttered as he reached for the little control button on the bed to put him into sitting position. Once he was high enough up to see the girl he was surprised. She was small, nearly a foot smaller than he with a short A-line haircut and white skin. Her eyes, though, were like Neji's; there were no pupils, no iris just a lavender color so light it looked white. She wore a hospital gown and had a patient bracelet on her right wrist.

"You know _Her_?" Naruto asked surprised. This was the woman who had showed up at the last second to save Sasuke. She smiled and walked from the doorway into the room fully.

"Of course," she said matter-of-factly. "_She_ used to talk to me all the time, but now _She_ is awake and has no time for me. _She_ has mentioned you before, though." The woman pointed at Sasuke as she came closer to the bed. She opened her mouth to say something again only to have her own interruption. Neji came flying into the room looking harried. He seemed to relax as soon as he saw the woman.

"Hinata-sama," he said and the woman turned her head to look at him. He held out his hand like a parent would to a young child. She took it without hesitation. "The orderlies are looking everywhere for you. You mustn't run off like that." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the words. The tone was more tolerant than he had ever heard Neji be before. He could almost swear there was affection in his voice. As far as he knew, Neji had been like him; having no one special and not wanting anyone. Hinata turned her head to look at the two of them as Neji turned her over to two white clad orderlies. Sasuke knew that she was looking at him and it unnerved him for some reason.

"I'm sorry about my cousin," Neji said, once more stiff and polite. Naruto just smiled at him from his place on Sasuke's lap.

"She was fine," Naruto told him dismissing his apology. He turned back to Sasuke, whose curiosity was humming in the back of his mind. Naruto almost didn't say anything, relishing in the feel of him being there. It was amazing what one could get used to in a few days time. "Hinata was the woman who showed up with the healing seals," Naruto explained. Sasuke blinked in surprise and looked at Neji who had colored a little at the mention. He almost seemed embarrassed by something.

"Is she hurt?" Sasuke asked not remembering Naruto mentioning anything about her being injured in the fighting. She seemed so delicate that he had a hard time imagining her surviving a fall let alone a crazed vampire, but he could think of no other reason for her to be admitted to the hospital.

"No," Neji said with a sigh. He covered his eyes with one hand as he massaged his temples. "Let me explain before you ask. Hinata is pre-cognate." Both Sasuke and Naruto were surprised by the information, though it would explain how she knew about the Mother-of-All-Darkness. Neji wasn't finished in his explanation, however. "But like most gifts," his voice twisted on the word to give it the opposite meaning, "It was a knife that cut two ways. She can see the future, but at the price of her sanity. She's not dangerous by any means. It's just that sometimes she isn't all there and it's hard to tell whether what she's talking about is a product of the madness or if it is a vision of the future."

"That's how you knew to bring Temari to the fight club," Naruto said a feeling of awe spreading to Sasuke who was frowning. This explained a lot of things: why Neji was almost always at the hospital, why he hadn't decided to put his talents to more money making uses, why he spent so much time in the Psych ward.

"Yes," Neji said with a nod. "It's also how she knew to bring the seals. Hell, it's how she knew how to draw the seals. It's an amazing talent, but the cost…" There was a mournful silence for a moment as they all reflected on the cost of there own "gifts". Neji cleared his throat and moved to the door. "Once the police know you're up they'll be wanting to talk to you, Uchiha. They've taken statements from everyone except for you and Naruto. Anko is furious." Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement as Neji exited the room.

"Well, Hinata seems like a nice girl," Naruto said moving to get off the bed. Keeping up the roll, however light it was, was still draining him. He had used quite a bit of power last night and this was adding to it. Sasuke sensed Naruto's weariness, but he had to know just who this Mother-of-All-Darkness was. That and he was afraid that the second that he closed his eyes she would be there, waiting. It was not something he wanted to admit to, but he would rather than to end up in her clutches again.

"Naruto," Sasuke said with a sigh, "Who is the Mother-of-All-Darkness?" Naruto froze one leg on the floor, the other on the bed. He looked at Sasuke and echoed his sigh, biting his bottom lip as he thought of just how to explain what he knew.

"_She_ has another name, Sunshine," Naruto said finally. Sasuke gave him a look that clearly said that was not what he had asked. "Among the very old _She_ is called the Black Lady, the Mother–of-Us-All. It is said that _She_ sleeps deep underground and that the Council was originally created to watch over _Her_ resting place. Rumor has it that if the Black Lady were to die so would all vampires." Naruto told Sasuke everything that he knew about the mysterious woman known as the first vampire. But he had a burning question as well. "Sasuke," he asked looking at him, "How do you know of _Her_? She is a very well kept secret even among vampires."

"You know that burn on my shoulder?" Sasuke said looking up at the tiled ceiling. Naruto nodded and Sasuke saw it out of the corner of his eye and took it as his cue to continue on. "I sort of refused her advances in the direction of gaining marks from her." Naruto moved so that Sasuke was forced to look at him. Sasuke found himself looking into a sea of blue, not because Naruto had rolled him, but because Naruto was that close to him.

"This is bad, Sunshine," Naruto said and Sasuke could feel the worry radiating off him. Naruto knew now how close he truly had been to loosing Sasuke and it wasn't to his injuries. Sasuke only had the first and weakest of the three marks. Contrary to what Kabuto had told Sasuke, one did not need to kill the vampire who had originally given the marks in order to give a mark. If the vampire was powerful enough they could mark over the other vampire's marks. Naruto had heard of instances of it happening up to the second mark. He pulled far enough back that Sasuke could see his face. "There is nothing to stop _Her_ from giving you the marks if that is what _She_ wants to do. Nothing except…," Naruto trailed off, not wanting to suggest it. Sasuke had made it clear how he felt about getting one mark, let alone all three.

"Except what, Naruto?" Sasuke asked frowning. He didn't like the way Naruto was hesitating. But, then again, he didn't like the idea of becoming the Mother-of-All-Darkness's new chew toy. He had little doubt that he would be able to be anything else. One thing he knew about vampires was the fact that they collected power, whether they used it or not. And they loved to watch those who once had the power grovel at their feet. The only exception to this was currently leaning over him. "You have to tell me." Sasuke was half-way tempted to pull out the Sharingan and ask, but figured Naruto would tell him one way or the other without them.

Naruto knew that his next words could loose him Sasuke's delicate trust, so he took what he had wanted since that kiss they had shared sparring. He leaned over and kissed him again. This was hardly what Sasuke had expected. But it felt good. Better than the first time. It was like electricity was running through his veins and pooling low within him. He found himself opening his mouth in shock from the sensation and Naruto took advantage of this by putting his own tongue in the other's mouth, exploring every inch he could reach. He managed to get Sasuke's tongue to follow his back into his mouth where Sasuke discovered just how hard it was to French kiss a vampire. Sasuke sliced open his tongue on Naruto's fangs, and Naruto moaned into the kiss at the taste. Sasuke knew no pain, however, from the roll, and didn't bother to stop his own exploration of Naruto's mouth.

Naruto found that kissing the other was not enough with what little blood that was left in his veins rushing south, and he reached out to run his hand along Sasuke's side. The roll was not enough to prevent Sasuke from feeling pain as his broken rib was graced with the barest of touches. That was all it took to bring him to his senses and turn away from Naruto panting as he swore. He had had his share of kisses, both wanted and unwanted, but he had never had a reaction like that. Sasuke took a second to breathe, trying to decide whether he should be furious or not. In the end all he could think was that whatever Naruto was going to suggest would not be something he would like. He was learning how Naruto did things and he knew from the desperation in the kiss Naruto thought that he wasn't going to be able to get another one.

"Naruto," he said turning to look at the other, Sharingan active from the adrenaline in his system from the kiss. He put one hand on the other's chin to make Naruto meet his gaze. "Tell me how we can prevent her from marking me." Sasuke felt dirty saying that. It was like he was some damn tree and every dog within a thirty mile radius wanted to pee on him to make sure that he belonged to him. Naruto smiled a little, catching a bit of the imagery from where he was locked in the other's gaze.

"I would have to give you all three marks."

* * *

She opened her eyes for the first time in millennia. The room was dark save for the glow of candles and the magic that had been used to bring her back. She sat up slowly, having to remember just how to make a body move. It had been so long since she had had one. It had been since the last true necromancer had made an alliance with the Council to put her down. The fool had stopped just short of killing her by sealing her soul, or what was left of it, into a jar that was kept deep in the halls of the Council chambers never to be opened. But it seemed someone had opened it-opened it and found her a new body.

"Who awakens me?" she asked looking around the room to spot five figures kneeling at the points in the pentagram they had drawn with what her nose told her was fresh blood. One of them rose and she was startled by the orange and black mask that he wore. Every inch of him was covered, the clothing black save for a thin line of orange that ran up the sides of his pants. A single hole was present on the left side of the mask for him to use to see.

"My Lady, it has been so long," his voice was deep and jovial. Kushina stood then, careful of the lines drawn in blood around her, she was no fool and respected all lines of magic, and opened her arms to him. She had thought him dead all this time. She had seen him burned alive before her eyes as they sealed her. He walked to her and she enveloped him in her arms.

"My dear, sweet Madara," she cooed wrapping her arms around him. The man shuddered in her arms at the sound of her voice. She had been the source of so many nightmares and so many pleasant dreams. She had twisted him so badly, and he loved her for it. She wrapped one hand around the back of his head, using the other to pull down the high neck of his shirt. She sunk her fangs into his scared flesh and drank her fill of his blood. She dropped him then, leaving him groaning in pain on the floor. She drank the fear in the room around her like a man dying of thirst. She looked down, to watch her feet as she walked and stopped. Her body, naked as it was, was not the right proportion at all. She reached a hand up to her hair and let out a shriek as she realized it was short.

"You," she snarled pointing at the only other female in the room. "Bring me a mirror. Now!" The woman stood and rushed out of the room like the very hounds of hell were on her heels. Kushina ran her hands across her body horrified. She had spent hundreds of years perfecting her body. With some other vampire out trying to stake a claim on something that was hers she hardly had the time to work on whatever body they had managed to find for her. The woman returned with an old fashioned looking glass and Kushina shuddered as she looked at herself. Her hair was short and bright pink. Her body was small and boyish. Only the skin tone was right, though the eyes had gone red to match her presence in the body. She threw the looking glass into the wall where is shattered, raining shards on the woman who had brought it to her.

"Fret not, my lady," one of the other figures stated and she turned to face him. He was young looking, but she could place his age to just after she had been sealed. He was attractive in the way that youth was. She walked to him, ignoring the glass that sliced into her feet. She stopped before him, waiting for him to continue. "Technology has come a long way since you were sealed. Humans have developed a way to change the appearance of their bodies in hours with the help of healers." Kushina raised an eyebrow, reaching down to pull him up by his chin.

"Bring me one of these healers, child," Kushina told him tossing his head back as she finished talking with him. "I am unfit to be seen in this body." She walked back to the middle of the pentagram, next to where Madara was raising himself off the floor. She reached down and grabbed him by the back of his head, jerking him to his feet. She pulled the mask off revealing a perfect face and two glowing red eyes complete with three tomoe. Madara looked startled.

"Such a gift have I given you, my loyal servant," she said running one nail down the side of his face leaving a thin red line of blood that healed almost as soon as it was made. "Yet you shall be punished," she looked away from him and at the others that were doing their best to blend in to the floor, minus the one she had sent away. "You will all be punished for giving me such a body." As she spoke she tossed Madara into one of the walls. The sound of their screams filled the early morning air as she took her vengeance out of their hides.

* * *

Reviews:

Chronos Guardian: Thanks. I hope I didn't disappoint with this one.

Dragonpearl77: There will only be a couple of the characters from Akatsuki coming in the story for obvious reasons. I mean, Itachi is dead and I have a better role for Kisame. I love him dearly. You were right about Sasori and there will be more from that end of things next chapter. This one was mostly an intro to our lovely Kushina. I think that Sasuke and Naruto have kissed before this in like chapter four or five, but I could've had that edited out. It all depends on what my beta said.

cologate: I give you more! Mwahahahaha!

kai: Okay, Gaara didn't go for Kabuto because at that point he was practically bled out and vampires require blood from people. They can't walk into a hospital and ask for blood bags, the blood needs to come from an actual person. The crowd was an easier target than what was happening on stage, and it took a minute for the fact that Sasuke was injured to hit his brain. Vampires in Lust are not the smartest creatures on the planet. As for why Sasuke's power went after Lee, I can't explain at the moment, but I will say that it has to do with why Kushina is interested in him. Continue to bug me, because I sat on that chapter like a month before I remembered that I needed to finish it. :p is someone sticking their tongue out at you and smiling.

shirilyle: Thanks, and look: I'm continuing!

astoroche: Thank you. You made me blush with your compliments.

Chiya-chan: Here's the chapter. Enjoy, dear.

Halskr: Glad you liked the freezing, though I won't claim it as being his power or not.

2stupid: Buffy is present in small amounts. Largely, it's where I got my concept of slayers from and evolved from there. As for what happened to Gaara, I answered it in the chapter. Sasuke will improve his abilities, and has done so already. It is sort of tied into the marks, and yes it matters quite a bit.

cfox: I am now working on explaining what Sasuke's power is doing to both him and Naruto, but it may be a long time in coming as far as answering.

skyemarie:Thank you for the review, and no you haven't reviewed before. But I appreciate you taking the time to do so. It means a lot to see the reviews in my inbox.

Kai-Chan94: You're welcome and here's more.


	13. Chapter 13

a/n: Sorry it's been so long, ya'll. A lot of shit has happened this summer. It has been the summer from hell and then I got some new ideas so this got put on the backburner. I haven't abandoned it though.

* * *

Don't tear me down for all I need  
Make my heart a better place  
Give me something I can believe  
Don't tear me down  
You've opened the door now, don't let it close

-All I Need, _Within Temptation_

Shikamaru stood in the middle of the chaos of what was turning out to be the largest crime scene he had ever worked on. They had cordoned off everything from the dinner to the pharmaceutical plant for evidence. Not that they were even certain what they were searching for. The crime should've been impossible: what could come in and single-handedly murder almost every vampire in the entire city in one night? Not that they even had the bodies of the older ones, but the amount of younger vampire corpses present was more than enough to suggest the mass genocide that the slayers had spoken of finding.

Shikamaru looked at one of the walls smeared with too much blood to have come from just one body and had to wonder at the statements of the slayers. Slayers had always been more like contractors for the government than true employees, willing to work within the law as opposed to it, but they had never really hid their mission. Slayers had not been created to carry out execution orders given by the government, or even to protect mankind from vampires. They had been created for the purpose of making vampires extinct. All these facts had him questioning the statements Anko had gotten in from Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu. They only thing that was really stopping him from bringing them in on charges was the sheer volume of the dead. There was no way that they could've killed that many vampires and not had a scratch on them, even if they had bothered to go to a healer first.

Shikamaru knew that something was going on whether it was vampire politics or something much more sinister. He knew that it was all somehow connected to that vampire that kept following Sasuke around. It seemed that the two of them had an alibi for the time that the murders would've taken place, but the feeling of connection was too great to ignore. Then there was the fact that the only one found alive down here had been the human servant of another vampire that was known to travel with Sasuke's shadow. It made no sense. Why come all the way down here and kill every moving thing except one unconscious human servant? What was the purpose?

* * *

Sasuke was still on the bed after hearing Naruto's suggestion. The only way to keep him from becoming another vampire's human servant was to get all three marks from Naruto? He liked Naruto, sure. Hell, he might admit to the fact that he lusted after him in what he felt was an unhealthy way, but he did not want to be bound to him heart, mind and soul. Immortality hardly held any kind of pull to him. He was actually looking forward to the day he died so that he might meet his parents again wherever they were. He was surprised Naruto had even suggested the giving of all three marks to begin with.

He closed his eyes and broke the hold that the sharingan had on Naruto as he thought. As he did it, Naruto watched the other's face for any kind of hint as to how the other took the news. He bit his lower lip in anxiety and felt down the connection between the two of them in an attempt to get some kind of feel for how Sasuke felt. Feeling the outright rejection of his offer stung a little. Naruto had become certain of one thing in the past night and that was that he was not going to live without Sasuke. But, he also knew, that Sasuke was a fiercely independent creature and that pushing him into something like this, something where he would be reliant on Naruto for his existence, was not something that was really in his nature.

"Are you certain about this, Naruto?" Sasuke finally asked forcing down the sickening feeling in his stomach at the idea of becoming more bound to a vampire. It seemed like every time he got over it just a little bit something would happen to remind him that the other wasn't human. _But,_ a small voice whispered in his mind, _he is human enough to feel and to make you want him._ Naruto grimaced and ran his hand through his hair. He had been hoping they could get through all the shit that had surrounded them since the first time they met before broaching any kind of idea about the marks. But fate was turning out to be one vindictive bitch.

"It's the best I've got, sunshine," Naruto said moving so that he was sitting on the edge of Sasuke's hospital bed. Sasuke stared at the ceiling. That was not what he really wanted to hear. He closed his eyes and weighted his options. He could bind himself to the vampire sitting next to him for all eternity or be forcibly bound to some crazed bitch that every vampire in existence was scared of. These were not exactly the best choices. What really surprised him, however, was the fact that he was not even considering the third option: to kill her. She was vampire and as such could be slayed. The only problem was the fact that he was unwilling to pay the price. In the end that was what decided him, the fact that he was unwilling to risk the fact that killing her would kill Naruto.

"Fine," Sasuke said almost sinking into the mattress as the weight of his decision sunk in. "How do we go about doing this?" His words so shocked Naruto that he was quiet for a moment. He couldn't believe that Sasuke was willing to do such a thing, to intertwine his life completely with that of a vampire. However, Naruto was not going to give him time to second guess his choice.

"We'll have to mutually exchange blood for the second mark and as for the third…," Naruto trailed off as he thought about the third mark. The third mark was more ritualistic than the first or second marks which could be given in the heat of the moment. The third mark was more an exchange of vows that called on old magic to bind the two together. The process could take hours depending on how formal the two wanted to be and just what the terms were, for the third mark was more a contract that bound the two together than anything else. Naruto opened his mouth to explain this to Sasuke, but was interrupted by the slamming open of the door.

Both turned to see Anko standing in the doorway, rage almost coming off her in visible waves. Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth drawn tight as it could around the end of the sucker in her mouth. She was wearing civilian clothes and it was clear that she had come from her house to here without time to stop anywhere in between. She strode into the room like it was hers, stopping at the side of Sasuke's bed with Naruto between the two. She put both hands on her hips as she looked at them for a moment before sighing.

"I warned you, Uchiha," she said shaking her head as the anger seemed to almost dissolve. "I warned you that he was dangerous." Her words had Naruto snapping his eyes from her to Sasuke, who was frowning. Was this what they had been talking about before? Did Sasuke really think him dangerous? Well, he was, but he would never hurt Sasuke or anyone else that was close to him. Surely, after what the two had been through he couldn't think that? But it would explain why Sasuke hesitated so much around him.

"He's not dangerous," Sasuke said feeling the odd need to defend Naruto. Sure, Naruto was dangerous, but what vampire wasn't? At least with Naruto he felt somewhat safer than he did when he was in the presence of some humans. He knew that Naruto would rather die than harm someone he considered a friend. "At least he's not dangerous the way you're thinking, Anko. Let's just get this over with so that we can get some sleep. I've had a bad night." Sasuke closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Naruto was really the one who needed sleep, he just wanted Naruto to be able to ease him back into the pain so that he could get used to it. Naruto found himself even more confused at Sasuke's words, but also unexpectedly warm from them as well. Did Sasuke really mean that? If he did, then why did he always hesitate around him? Naruto just frowned as he decided that Sasuke was too complicated to figure out at the moment.

"Fine," Anko said taking over Naruto's chair from earlier and pulling out a digital recorder. She propped it on the table next to Sasuke's bed and turned it on. She wasn't happy that Sasuke seemed to like this vampire so much, but it was not really any of her business. Her business was to find and bring in to whoever was responsible for the deaths of the security workers in the fight club. It didn't matter to the law that they were killed doing something illegal, the law demanded justice for their deaths just the same. "I want to know everything that happened last night. You know the drill, Uchiha."

"Are you arresting us, Anko?" Sasuke asked. Anko looked at him and frowned. Naruto was already braced to use the last of his energy to teleport the two out of the hospital at the first sign that things were going to go wrong. It didn't matter that if he did it would almost certainly force him into an instant Rest, he knew that Sasuke would see to it that they were taken care of.

"No," Anko said looking tired. "I need your statements so we can figure out just what happened last night. However, your statements could incriminate you in something else. Jesus, Uchiha, you took part in a fight in an illegal fight club." Sasuke nodded. He could understand that. Hell, he might almost be safer in jail at the rate that things were going. He carefully worked the facts of what had happened to make it seem as though Orochimaru was responsible for the deaths of the security guards instead of Gaara. He left out the part about him being Naruto's human servant. As they finished Anko clicked off the recorder.

"You're free for now, Uchiha," Anko pocketed the recorder and stood to leave. Naruto stood with her.

"Is that everything then?" Naruto asked as Anko made to leave the room. She nodded her head and shot Sasuke a look.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Uchiha," Anko said as she adjusted the lollipop in her mouth. "There's a lot more at stake than your reputation. A lot of people in the department might not look so kindly on you associating with what many consider the enemy. Watch yourself." She left before Sasuke could question just what she meant by that. Naruto turned to look at Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

"She's an odd one," Naruto said wincing as the beginnings of a power deprivation headache set in just behind his eyes.

"Indeed," Sasuke said looking at Naruto in concern as he felt an echo of the headache through the link. In order to have it open enough to keep Sasuke rolled Naruto had to let him equally into his mind.

"Can I ask you a question?" Naruto asked as he moved so that he was laying next to Sasuke on the small hospital bed. Sasuke nodded as he used the little button to put his bed back in a resting position. They both needed sleep and Sasuke didn't have the heart to tell Naruto to move. Well, it was more like he felt that having Naruto close to him would help to stave off _that_ vampire. He really wanted no encounters with her. "Do you think I'd ever hurt you?" The question had been bugging Naruto ever since Anko made her comment about him being dangerous.

"No," Sasuke said and sighed. "I…Of everything you've done you never hurt someone you like. I've been inside…You know what let's get some sleep." He frowned at the sheer idiocy of what he had been trying to say and the fact he couldn't say it. He had been inside Naruto's mind and knew that he would never hurt him. So why couldn't he say that to Naruto? Naruto just smiled as he snuggled into Sasuke's side. He knew what Sasuke had been trying to say. The link was great for things like that.

* * *

Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin sat in the small living room of Juugo's apartment. It was small with cracked paint and Karin could've sworn she had seen more than one roach run up the wall. Seating consisted of one threadbare armchair to which Juugo had taken claim and a stained loveseat where Karin and Suigetsu sat carefully leaning away from each other. On the coffee table in the middle of the room sat the map that had been handed to Juugo the night before. It rested in a plastic bag now, a preserving seal in the bag with it. There was always a chance that whoever had handed it to Juugo had left at least a little of their power signature on it. That, however, did not explain why they had not even mentioned the map to the FBI despite mentioning the man who had handed it to them.

Not one of them had mentioned it for one simple reason: they needed to keep the civilians, as non-slayers were thought of, out of it as much as they could. The entire thing stank of vampire politics, but also something darker. Now they just had to decide how much to tell the council. They were all slayers of the fourth circle and expected to report these things. However, they knew that the second that they did Sasuke was almost certainly loose his slayer status because of his connection to it and they would be forced to either kill him or keep tabs on him for the rest of his life. Sasuke was different things to the different people in the room, but all would call him friend.

Sasuke had fought tooth and nail to see that Juugo was not only admitted to the formal world of slayers, but that he got the rank that he deserved. As a non-human slayer he was not entitled to any status as a slayer. Eventually, the Elders would have been forced into killing him to prevent an unsanctioned slayer from gaining a reputation. Sasuke had pulled Karin's sorry ass off the streets and out of the world of drugs and prostitution that she had been in for so long. Sasuke had taught Karin everything she knew about slaying vampires, even going so far as to help her turn the disadvantages of being a human into things she could work with. She had followed him to this town when he and his guardian had moved here during the end of high school just so she could work with him. Sasuke had saved Suigetsu from the clutches of one of the nastiest vampires to walk the earth. He had helped him modernize after spending over a century in a fish tank. Sasuke had done a lot of good in their lives without really trying.

"Is it agreed then?" Juugo asked looking at his companions. Karin nodded firmly and Suigetsu smirked.

"Do you even have to really ask?" Suigetsu said standing and grabbing the map. He opened the plastic bag and stuck his hand in. The ink that had created the map began to run as he slid a finger across it. It soaked the paper until there was nothing left except for soggy pieces of paper floating in the bag. He made a face as he absorbed the water back into his body and tossed the bag to Juugo. Carefully, Juugo put the pieces of paper on his hand and burnt them into ash. There was nothing left for the Council of Elders to use against Sasuke and Naruto now. There was nothing for the Elders to use to figure out that there was anything horribly amiss going on with the vampires in the city. The proof was now just tiny bits of ash.

Juugo and Karin gathered their things and Juugo moved to show them out the door. Each of them was silently praying that they had done the right thing; that this would not come back to bite them in the ass. They were willing to hang their lives on this.

* * *

Sasuke woke to the sound of arguing voices. His internal clock told him it was close to the time he normally got up which explained why he could make out one of the voices as being Naruto's. There were at least two others from what he could make out and he couldn't help the odd feeling of déjà vu that was creeping up his spine. At least they had moved the argument out of his room, if the door was open. Most likely that was Naruto's doing. He found himself sitting up without the use of the clicker and wincing at the painful twinge in his lungs. It hurt, but it was nowhere near what it had been before. It was clear that the healing ability he had gained from Naruto had been at work while he was sleeping.

"I'm telling you that it's impossible! He isn't a vampire," Naruto was telling the others heatedly. Sasuke looked at his doorway blinking when he saw four vampires talking to Naruto. He couldn't get a good look at them because Naruto's back was in the way, but he knew they were there. They were all fairly young, maybe fifty years at the most, and none of them was anywhere near as powerful as Naruto.

"I don't care what the hell he is," the lone female of the group said pausing to pop a piece of gum. "We have to swear to someone or we won't wake tomorrow. Besides, the pull is coming from him." Sasuke blinked in confusion. What the hell were they talking about? Swearing what to him?

"Naruto?" Sasuke called from the bed causing the other to turn. Naruto looked at him sheepishly. It was clear he had been hoping to handle this before Sasuke had woken up. "What is going on here?" Naruto put his hand behind his head and the others took it as their cue to walk into the room. The female who had spoken was short and looked to be barely eighteen with pink hair that reminded him of Sakura. She wore a dark blue skull cap, a black t-shirt with fishnet underneath and a pair of baggy jeans. She looked closer to being a homeless person than being a vampire. Three males accompanied her: a set of blond twins similarly dressed to her and another one. The odd one out was wearing something that looked closer to belonging on a Samurai than the teen he appeared to be.

"It's nothing, sunshine," Naruto said offering a smile. "Just a misunderstanding." It was too bad for Naruto that Sasuke had gotten better at reading him through the connection. It made it impossible for Naruto to pull off a lie like that. Sasuke gave him a glare and Naruto winced. It wasn't Naruto who offered the explanation for what was going on, though.

"We are here to swear allegiance to you as the new Lord of the City," the male who looked out of place told him. Sasuke looked at him. This had to be some kind of sick prank. He couldn't be lord of any city. He was a human, and not just a human, but a slayer. These were hardly qualifications for becoming the Lord of the City to a bunch of vampires.

"You're joking," Sasuke said flatly. He found very little humor in this. He was going to kill whoever thought it up slowly and with the use of much pain. All four of the vampires shook their heads almost in unison.

"Alas but that we were," the same male that had spoken before said. His grammar caused both of the twins to snicker. He shot them a glare. "The pull points to you. If he," he pointed towards Naruto, "would but allow himself to feel the pull he, too, would know. You have inherited the title of Lord of the City. If you do not claim it, do not allow us to swear ourselves to you, we will die. It is the power of the Lord of the City that allows minor vampires such as us to rise in the evening." The snickering stopped as he spoke. Sasuke looked at Naruto to confirm that what the other was saying was true. Naruto gave him a slight nod and Sasuke sighed. Why was it that the closer he came to digging himself out of this hole the further he fell in?

"Isn't there some other vampire that I could hand this off to?" Sasuke asked in a last ditch attempt to get out of this. He knew nothing about being Lord of the City. Hell, he was having enough trouble coping with him and Naruto.

"That's the funny thing," the female said once again popping her bright green gum. Sasuke could almost feel the eye twitch he was going to develop if she insisted on doing that. "There are no other vampires in the city. We were visiting the Lord up in Houston concerning some things and just got in about thirty minutes ago. That's when the pull hit and we called down to the crypt only to get the police telling us that all the vampires there were dead." She said all this nonchalantly, like it didn't matter to her that all her fellows had been murdered. Sasuke felt another headache blossom at her words. Just what had the others done? It had been a simple surgical mission: get Kankuro and get out. How the hell did that translate into kill every vampire in the place?

"So what does this swearing entail?" Sasuke asked with a sigh. He could hardly stand by and let them die just because he was a little squeamish at the idea of taking on this title. Naruto moved so that he was next to him and put his hand on the open back of the hospital gown that Sasuke was wearing. It helped him relax a little. Sasuke was in over his head and there was no one he could call for back up. He knew that Naruto didn't have any more clue than he did as to what was going on.

"It involves the taking of blood from you," the male said softly. At Sasuke's sharp look he back tracked a little to reassure. "It is only a token amount, the equivalent of a minor scratch. There are words that are spoken, but seeing as you are not vampire they would be meaningless here. We merely require the ability to rise until there is a vampire strong enough to take over for you." Sasuke ignored the growl that came from Naruto. He was aware that the other had insulted him, but it didn't really matter. He agreed on the fact that this was going to be a temporary arrangement.

"Fine," Sasuke said offering his wrist. The other came towards him and Naruto had to suppress the urge to defend Sasuke from them. Sasuke was his and not to be touched by any other vampire he didn't trust. There was too much of a chance that something could go wrong like before. But he was not about to deny the others the right to exist just because he was being overprotective. "I want names first though." The vampires in the room frowned at him. They had hoped not to give Sasuke anything that he could use to track them. It was insulting enough that they were going to have to admit to being sworn to a human, let alone being at his call. For, the power a lord had over those below him was in the use of their names. He could roll them and force them to do his bidding that way, but it was often ineffective for more delicate matters. Thus, the name clause had been developed into powers given to the Lords of the City. It was one of the twins who ended up speaking first.

"I am Ukon and this is my brother Sakon," he said taking Sasuke's wrist. Gently, he dragged one fang across the artery creating a very shallow cut. He licked the blood that welled there and Sasuke shivered as a chill ran across his body to settle somewhere in his core like a heavy, cold, liquid burden. It happened again as the brother followed suit. The female was seconds behind them, nostrils flaring as the smell of blood reached her nose. It was clear that she did not have the greatest control around blood.

"I am Tayuga," she said before lapping at the blood. She closed her eyes and returned the shudder Sasuke gave. It was clear that there was something in his blood that she wanted more of. She made a move to go for more, but was stopped as Naruto gathered his power and hissed at her. She let go of Sasuke like he was hot and backed against the wall head down in clear submission. Naruto could not believe that she had almost dared something so unthinkable in vampire society as to attempt to take blood from another vampire's servant. They were lucky that Naruto was sharing Sasuke's blood at all, pull or no pull. It was almost a minute before the well-spoken male followed the others.

"I am Kimmomaru," he said before taking the barest amount of blood of them all. He ran his tongue along the cut to seal it before straightening and marching out the door back straight and stiff. It was clear that his pride had been hurt. The other three followed suit with varying degrees of good-byes. Tayuga almost seemed to want to linger, but the look Naruto was giving her had her out of the room fairly quickly. Sasuke rubbed his wrist absently as he watched them go. They had just added something else to his long list of things that he needed to do. He was going to have to shop around for a vampire to take over as Lord of City on top of all the other things going on. He groaned as he thought about him conducting some kind of interview like a perspective employer. The idea was outrageous.

"Please tell me you know someone who would be a good choice at taking this position," Sasuke said as he examined the sealed cut on his wrist. Naruto moved so that he was sitting on the small bed behind Sasuke and let the other slouch against him.

"Not really," Naruto confessed as he put his chin on Sasuke's head. "I would suggest we just give the territory to whoever is running Houston, but, Sunshine, I don't ever know who is Lord of the City there. The absorption of this place would add a lot of power to whatever master vampire gets it. I don't want to hand that power to some kind of monster." Sasuke chuckled at the end of Naruto's statement. Most people considered all vampires to be monsters. He could see the merit in what Naruto was saying though. As a slayer he did not want someone who would endanger the general populace in charge.

"We'll have to get word out that I'm interviewing then," Sasuke said as he massaged his temples. He had one bastard of a headache. Naruto made a noise of agreement before reaching up to massage the other's temples himself. He was beginning to wonder at the frequency of Sasuke's headaches. It wasn't normal. He was interrupted by Shizune clearing her throat from the doorway. She had a clipboard with Sasuke's chart on it in her hands and one brave intern standing behind her.

"I hate to interrupt," she said fighting down a smile as Naruto moved off the bed and away from Sasuke, "but I have to see if we can discharge Sasuke tonight." She removed the stethoscope from around her neck as she walked to the side of the bed. Gently, she placed it over the rib that had been broken hours earlier and told him to inhale. She made notes on his chart as she did it and moved the instrument around so that she could hear from different angles. Finally, she finished and put it back around her neck. "You just need to fill out some papers and then you're free to go. Do you want me to call Kakashi?" Sasuke frowned at hearing the name of his former guardian. He hadn't thought to even inform him that he was in the hospital, but he was short a car and thus a way to get home. Shizune realized the way his thoughts must be going and shook her head. "He's listed as your next of kin so we already called and told him you were here."

"Call him then," Sasuke said and Shizune handed the chart to the intern. He took it and just about rushed out the door. Naruto smirked from where he was leaning against the wall. He knew that the intern was likely more scared of Sasuke than him. Sasuke was the famous vampire hunter after all.

* * *

Reviews:

Astharoche: Sasuke still doesn't like the idea of being that attached to a vampire. He's having enough trouble with the idea that he might be attracted to Naruto, never mind spending the rest of his life with him. Sakura is not dead. Sort of. It'll get explained later just where she is. I harbor no ill will to Sakura, but her personality makes it easy for her to end up in these sort of rolls. Thanks for the review and sorry about the wait.

Dragontwister: I think the second mark will be in the next chapter, assuming that they can place it before Kushina makes her move. They've really only got until she recovers from the plastic surgery. Sakura didn't exactly give up her body. It's more complicated than that. I can't go into details now, but let's just say Sakura is not happy where she is. Kushina knew about Sasuke long before she had Sakura's body. There is a history between her and Uchihas. I apologize for the wait.

Shirilyle: Sakura is not dead so to speak. We'll find out what happened to her soon enough. Naruto and Sasuke will have their hands full with Kushina and everything else, but they should be able to pull through.

Skyemarie: I'm glad that I came up with something that you didn't expect. That is the role of a good author.

Kai: I think every evil servant has to be a masochist in order to put up with the shit that their leaders pull on them. I'm glad you enjoy my few attempts at comic relief. I've been told that I have an odd sense of humor. Gaara is in the hospital too, actually. Naruto has even been to see him while Sasuke was sleeping. We'll get to see more of him next chapter. I enjoy being bothered. It helps me remember that I actually need to write this. I'm terribly sorry about the wait.

Halskr: The marking shall commence next chapter and I agree that Sakura does not deserve to have Sasuke at all.

Stoic-Genius: Yeah, a lot of my inspiration for this came from the series. I've kind of merged this with some other ones and my own ideas, though. I'm going to take your comment as a compliment, though.

Utoi: Indeed it is a vampfic. –smilely face-

Colgate: -shifty eyes- Sorry this has taken so long. Don't beat me?

Mizuki Haikari: I'm continuing. At a snails pace, but I'm doing it.

Lady Laran: I thick the plot will eventually be too thick to cut with a knife the way I'm going. Glad you like it though.

NeverEverStar: I'm glad you think this is a well written fic. It makes me happy when people say stuff like that.

2stupid: Yeah, they're pretty much screwed. And necromancers can control the dead, Sasuke is just very young into his power and vampires are only partially considered dead. The mechanics are complicated, but I can give them to you if you want.

Cfox: I think I might have taken too long with this chapter. –sweat drop- But I'm glad you think it is turning into a well written epic.

Dolphi99: I'm glad you like it and am sorry this took so long to get out.

xXxAngel VxXx: Let's start from the top, shall we? The _she_ who has been mentioned is indeed Kushina. Both Tsunade and Jiraiya will be making an appearance, have no fear. The Yondaime was Naruto's maker and he was old enough to remember Kushina. However, she is not related to Naruto other than the fact that Naruto gained his own line after killing him. Naruto has just never made another vampire. I tried to keep the character spoilers to a minimum. I want to people to enjoy the story regardless of where they are in the actual series. Everything to do will Sakura will be revealed in good time. So never fear. And don't worry about the rambling. I enjoy long reviews.

FuriousDeragonmaji: Indeed we do. Now the question is how did she get there?


	14. Chapter 14

_You come out at night_

_That's when the energy comes_

_And the dark side's light_

_And the vampires roam_

_Struts your rasta wear_

_And your suicide poem_

_And a cross from a faith_

_That died before Jesus came_

_You're building a mystery_

_~Building a Mystery by Sarah McLaughlin_

Sakura felt like she was weightless. There was nothing holding her in place and yet she was there. All she had to do to move was will herself in one direction or the other and she was there. Not that it did her any good. She was surrounded in kind of monotonous black that stretched as far as she could see. It was odd though because she could make out her hand and other limbs despite the fact that it was pitch black. Vaguely, she wondered if this was what being dead was like. The thought scared her as she moved to pinch herself only to feel nothing. There was no pain. Did that make her dead or this an odd dream?

Panic began to set in as she clawed at herself desperate to feel something, anything that would tell her that she was alive. Sobs escaped her throat, but she could not feel the tears making their way down her face, nor could she taste them. There was no sensation of burning as she choked on the knot in her throat. There was nothing. She curled in on herself, realizing for the first time that she could not see anything of herself. If this was death, than surely she was in hell. The knowledge was hardly comforting, but it sparked something inside her. If she was dead, did that not mean that she had been murdered? For her last memory before waking up in this nightmare was of fighting against Sasori. His name was like a vile poison in her mind. If she had been killed by him, if she had been sent to this hell by him, then she would make sure he suffered the same. For if there was one thing she had learned while being with Sasuke it was that the dead had power. Now, all she had to do was find someone to help her.

* * *

Sasuke felt that he had never been happier to see his house than he was in that moment. Kakashi and Iruka, after a rather lengthy lecture on making sure to list them as next of kin on his records so that they would be notified if something like this happened again, had just dropped both him and Naruto off in front of his home. Sasuke walked to the door and opened it with the key that the hospital had retrieved from the mangled mess that they had made of his clothes. They had also been nice enough to give him back every weapon that had been on his person originally. It seemed that they had learned from the last time he had to trapeze across the hospital in search of what belonged to him. Naruto was hovering next to him just in case he had trouble walking as he walked into the house. Frankly, it was irritating in all sense of the world. So what if he had nearly blacked out when he had first tried to stand up. He had had more drugs than a crack whore running through his system. He had the right to need a moment to catch his balance.

Naruto watched Sasuke put his keys on the table directly across from the door and head to the kitchen. Naruto was enjoying the fact that while most of the objects Sasuke had had with him had been returned intact his clothes had not. Kakashi had conveniently forgotten to stop by the house and pick up some clothes so Sasuke had been forced to 'borrow' a pair of sweat pants from the hospital. This meant that Naruto was getting a rather pleasing eyeful of Sasuke's top half. Naruto found himself oddly content to just watch as Sasuke went about the process of making a pot of coffee. He frowned as he realized that was what the other was doing.

"Sunshine," Naruto began as Sasuke began dumping coffee beans into the grinder sitting on his kitchen counter, "the doctor said that you need to get some rest. Somehow I think drinking coffee is not what she had in mind." Naruto felt Sasuke's irritation spike as he turned around to glare at him.

"Between being pursued by the vampire equivalent of the bogeyman, trying to figure out what could possibly kill an entire coven of vampires, and finding someone to run said coven I don't think that sleep is exactly an option," Sasuke said flatly before closing his eyes and inhaling as the scent of freshly ground coffee hit his nose. "Besides I want to get started on that second mark before I do anything else." Naruto inhaled sharply at the reminder. He was still waiting for Sasuke to back out of that one. He could almost taste the trepidation of the other on his tongue. Sasuke distracted himself by removing the freshly ground coffee and putting in into the coffee maker. He had to do this before he lost his nerve. The silence was thick between them as Sasuke watched the coffee maker begin putting out the black drink that would help him stay awake for the rest of the night. He was pleased to note that he had woken a little after the sun had set meaning that he could use the entire night to try to sort through everything.

"Are you sure that you want to do that tonight?" Naruto asked only to earn a glare that covered a flash of hurt. "Not that I don't want to. Believe me, I want to." Just the idea of Sasuke's blood, of bonding closer to him, was enough to try to stir things that couldn't come alive without blood. And thinking about blood reminded him that he hadn't fed properly for a while. Sasuke picked up on the fact as he raised an eyebrow at his companion. The other hadn't fed and the idea excited him because he knew that he was going to be that meal. Without thinking about it, Sasuke found himself moving so that he was inches away from Naruto.

"Naruto," Sasuke said tilting his head to the side so the long line of his neck could be seen. Naruto swallowed as his eyes zeroed in on the vein just under the skin. "Let's do this." He was going to get this over with before he thought just too much on what he was doing.

"Okay," the blonde whispered as he pulled Sasuke so that they were flush against one another. "Me first," he said raising his wrist to his lips. It was stopped millimeters from them by a pale hand and Naruto blinked. He could feel that Sasuke was determined about something but it was hard to tell what exactly.

"You trust me?" Sasuke asked as Naruto lowered his hand. Naruto didn't even have to think about the answer as he nodded his head. Sasuke produced a small knife from somewhere and leaned so that his breath was just above the other's neck. He had no clue where the idea of this had come from, but knew it had to do with the vague thought of trying to get Naruto to understand what it felt like for him. The brunette left a barely there kiss just before running the blade lightly across the skin. The blue eyed vampire shuddered and it was not entirely in pain. Sasuke ran his tongue over the wound as blood began to well up and it was like someone had connected him with a car battery. He latched onto the wound, barely conscious of the fact that Naruto had pulled him flush against him and had one hand preventing him from moving his head. The blood was thick as it slid down his throat, making him think of what it would be like to drink molten chocolate-rich, dark, forbidden. But something was coming with it. The sensation of it running down his throat was altogether different. Whereas Naruto's blood was smooth, this was not. It was closer to what he imagined trying to swallow a bag of pop rocks-electric and uncomfortable. But it filled him, making him aware of every last inch of himself. His clothes felt rough like sandpaper against him and he wondered vaguely how he had managed to stand it before.

Naruto had shared blood before, both willing and unwilling and it had never felt anything like this. It was like the other had reached down inside him and was yanking something out, something that was blooming and growing with each passing second. Naruto found himself grateful that he had offered his own blood first. If not, evidence of his own enjoyment would have manifested and he knew that it would immediately send Sasuke back into the shell he retreated to when something he had not planned on happened. Deciding that Sasuke had taken enough blood for the mark to take, he yanked him off the wound and groaned at sight before him. The hunter was dazed, pupils dilated in red irises and one line of blood trailing down the side of his mouth. He had never seen something so erotic in his life. Sasuke was only aware that the buzz had stopped and irritated he would not be allowed to have continued access to it. Grabbing Sasuke by his waist, Naruto sat him on the counter before licking the trail up and kissing him hungrily. He could feel the power sparking between them as he cleaned his own blood from the other's mouth, whimpering as he sliced Sasuke's lip with his fangs as he pulled away. They shared a look then, the smell of each others' blood in the air, and the look said one word: _more._

Naruto ran the edge of his fangs down Sasuke's jawline and throat, careful not to cut and delighting in the shivers he created. He ran his hands up the other's thighs as he bit directly onto the thickly pulsing vein at the juncture of neck and shoulder. The rush of blood into his mouth was like drinking heaven. It was perfect. Vaguely, he heard Sasuke moan and grab onto him, one hand on the back of his head the other on his shoulder, thighs wrapping around his waist. The second the blood hit the back of his throat it was like someone threw a switch. Electricity spiked through his body before settling in his core like a living thing. All the power that the other had been pulling up and out, rushed in and under his skin. He could feel Sasuke's life, each breath he took, each contraction of his heart as it pumped blood throughout his body, he could feel his desire running parallel with his own.

"All you had to do was ask," the blonde whispered against the flesh of Sasuke's neck as he drew away before taking too much of the sweet nectar that kept the other alive. Gently, he ran his knuckles over the rigid flesh of the brunette hunter's cock. Power drunk, it took a moment for Sasuke to register the words and bite back the groan at the feeling of Naruto touching him.

"M..ah..ore," he moaned as the vampire ran his fingers up his chest while palming his hardened flesh. God, he sounded like a damn whore. The thought snapped through the haze of his drunkenness and he shoved Naruto off him. Unfortunately, he no longer knew his own strength and sent Naruto crashing into the granite island in the middle of his kitchen collapsing it in a cloud of rock dust and cooking utensils.

"Sunshine?" Naruto asked once he had managed to dig his way up out of the wreckage.

"Fuck," Sasuke swore not looking at him. He was panting like he had just run a damn marathon, and what was worse was the ache that was settling all over his damn body. There was almost a physical pull in the direction of the vampire and all his instincts fought against it. He would not go to the other just because of some damn metaphysics. He would go only if he wanted to. He was stronger than this. He had spent his entire life shoving his power back under his skin, he would not let it dictate his life.

"Sunshine, Sasuke, talk to me," Naruto said as worry began to replace desire. He could feel his servant's agony and his determination, but could think of no way to stop it. Naruto reached out to touch him only to have his hand slapped away.

"Don't touch me," the brunette snarled even though his body screamed in protest. He was looking at Naruto now, and it was like someone had set every nerve on fire. How could the other not feel this? The need to touch, to claim, to make sure everyone knew just who the blonde belonged to was overwhelming. The feeling was so foreign that all Sasuke could think was that the mark had put it there. Naruto had never seen a look such as the one on Sasuke's face. His eyes were filled with lust and longing, but also with such defiance. It was like he did not want to be with him. The thought was crushing and rushed between them. Sasuke froze as he met Naruto's eyes. "Naruto," he whispered as he desperately sought a way to explain, to take the pain from him. The pain that he had caused.

"It's alright," Naruto said softly, almost seeming to collapse in on himself. Moving with the speed of his kind, Naruto was out of the kitchen before Sasuke could react. The brunette stared at the spot where the vampire had been trying to understand just what had happened. The sound of the timer going off on his coffee was surreal and forced a strangled sound of laughter from his throat. He slid off the counter, only to find that his legs would not hold him so he landed on the floor with a thump. Things had been going so well. Hell, if he admitted it to himself, he had had the blonde just where he had wanted him. But then his need to control had kicked in, and now…now… _I'm so sorry…_

* * *

Shikamaru sat in his office pouring over a catalogue that the FBI had created of all known and rumored metaphysical creatures. The thing was pitifully inadequate, but it was the best that they had. The entire world of myth and magic had been shoved down their collective throats very fast and the police and FBI were forever playing catch up. It was frustrating to no end. There had to be something in the list that could take out an entire coven of vampires without leaving so much as a body. He was well aware that the older the vampire was the more likely it was to become nothing but literally ash once you killed it, but newer vampires still had their bodies after they were killed. All they had been able to find was blood from the newer ones and not even that from the older. The bodies had been nowhere to be seen. Which meant something had likely eaten them. The idea was frightening. As far as he knew there was nothing that could count as an actual predator to a vampire.

Sighing, he sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Maybe he should hit the coffee pot up again. The black liquid was nasty as hell, but it would keep him awake. He grabbed the plain blue mug that had his name written on it in permanent marker as he rose, only to start as his cell phone rang. Frowning, he opened it to look at who was calling. The name Sakura flashed for a second before it disappeared. Holding his cell phone like it was something holy he ran from his office to the electronics department. Sakura was missing and had just tried to call him, there had to be some way to triangulate the call or something.

* * *

_I'm so sorry._ Naruto froze from where he had been in the process of attempting to leave via the single window in the room. His head whipped back as he expected to see Sasuke standing in the room, or the doorway at the very least. The words had practically been whispered into his ear. Shaking his head at the level to which his imagination was willing to go, he resumed trying to make his way through the window and cursing that he had not thought to go in the direction of the front door; this window was barely big enough to let light in. That was until he heard the phone ring and a resounding crash. He was out of the room and into the kitchen without thinking about it. How could he have been so stupid? Sasuke had just gotten out of the hospital and just been a blood donor; there was no way that he was going to be fully functional after that. He could have passed out right afterward for all he knew he had been in such haste to get out of the room.

Sasuke glared at the phone in his hands before raising it to his ear. That had been one of his favorite mugs; a deep rich blue with the Uchiha uchiwa stamped on it, it had been a gift from Kakashi and Iruka. But then it was his own fault for almost jumping out of his skin when the phone had rung. He had been too absorbed in his moping and fighting his craving to go after Naruto to remember even where he was. He didn't even notice Naruto come back into the room as he recognized Shikamaru's voice.

"This had better be good," the hunter said, his eyes watching as Naruto cleaned up the pieces of the mug and pulled another one out. He rolled his eyes at the vampire's choice. The mug was one Sakura had gotten him and had a picture of Grumpy from the seven dwarves on it along with the words before noon underneath.

"How much do you know about ghosts?" the other asked and Sasuke frowned.

"Not much. I deal with the living dead," the brunette reminded him. Not that Sasuke had ever so much as raised a zombie in his life, but he figured that was the closest descriptor for what a vampire was. "Why?"

"Because we think that Sakura may be haunting my cell," Shikamaru said in a bored tone. Sasuke felt like slapping himself in the face. What did they put in the coffee over there? Heroin? "Every five minutes or so my cell goes off saying that Sakura is calling me, but there is no phone number and electronics can't trace the call from anywhere. We ran it by one of my sensitives over here and she said she could pick out an abnormal feeling around it." Sasuke mouthed thank you as Naruto handed him the coffee and moved behind him so that he could lean on him. The brunette was not going to admit it, but he was having a little trouble standing. Then there was the fact that the contact eased the craving.

"It's great that you have a lead on Sakura, Shikamaru," Sasuke said pausing to sip the little bit of liquid heaven in his hands. He didn't mean to sound callous about anything having to do with Sakura, she had been a part of his life for a while now, but he was glad that he didn't have to deal with her on top of things at the moment, "but why are you calling me? I mean, doesn't the fact that she may be a ghost make her dead? Shouldn't you be looking for a body?"

"We need you to come down here and ask her where it is," Shikamaru said flatly. Sasuke sighed and unconsciously snuggled closer to Naruto, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat behind him. Gently, treating Sasuke much the same way he would treat a frightened animal, he eased his arms around the other's waist. This was nice, and since Sasuke had apologized, even if it had been a figment of his imagination, things were okay. Naruto had felt the lingering regret the moment that he had entered the kitchen again and that was as good as the imagined apology.

"Shikamaru, I'm a necromancer not a medium or a priest," the vampire hunter ground out. "Even if I could do that, I'd like to point out that I just got out of the hospital after having my lung punctured." The reminder had the proper affect and Shikamaru apologized before hanging up. Sasuke put the phone back into the cradle and moved so he could look at Naruto with a few inches separating them. Where was he supposed to begin? Sorry seemed inaccurate as he was not sorry for his actions, though he was for the response that Naruto had given him. When had his life gotten this damn confusing? He wished he could just blame it on the vampire watching him with a blank face and warm eyes. Finally, the blonde sighed and crossed the space between him to press their foreheads together.

"Where's the broom and dustpan?" Naruto asked finally and Sasuke, who had been enjoying the power circuit the two of them touching had completed and would never admit to it, blinked. That had not been the question he had expected the other to ask. Especially, since he did not seem the domestic type.

"Why?" Sasuke asked taking note of how odd it was to talk when he was this close to the other. He could practically breathe too hard and end up kissing him. Naruto gave him that big goofy grin he had seen somewhere though he couldn't place it. He pulled away from the contact and moved so Sasuke could see what was left of his kitchen island. All Sasuke think as he looked at the ruins of his island was that it was impossible for him to have done that with his own power. "Holy shit," Sasuke swore softly as he moved away from Naruto to take closer inspection of the damage. Copper cook wear and knives were strewn about haphazardly. "I think we might need something bigger than a broom and dustpan."

* * *

The five of them sat across the table, shaped like a horseshoe. It was clearly designed so that all of them would be able to see whoever had come before them. The wood was dark, stained not just with lacquer, but with age and blood that had been spilt upon it. The room was brightly lit, as was tradition; the origins of which had been lost to time. But an air of gloom pervaded despite it. The clothing of the figures was as varied as the figures themselves. A man in with slight blue skin and Goth club wear sat next to a woman who looked like she would be more at ease at the Hamptons than cramped into the room as she was. Next to her sat a man with more bandages than actual clothing, a cane hanging off the back of the highbacked chair he sat on. Another woman sat on his right, a bottle of tequila in front of her and the fumes coming from her strong enough to cause a wrinkling of the nose of the chic woman. A white haired man who looked like had been trapped in the sixties was to her right and drawing designs on the table with the condensation from the open bottle.

"You all know the facts," the bandaged man sat as he got tired of waiting for someone to react to the information he had catalogued. "You all know the law." This last statement gained a snort from the drunken woman. He glared down the table at her.

"Law? Danzo, if you wanted to be so all about the law you should've been a lawyer not a vampire slayer. It looks as though the change in careers would've been good for your health," she informed him before picking the bottle up and tossing back a large swallow. Danzo shot her an ugly look. No one in the room knew what was under his bandages, but they all assumed it was some kind of deformity. "Everyone knows the 'law', as you put it, is nothing more than a series of guidelines. Our goal is the annihilation of all predatory preternatural creatures."

"Besides," the other female began leaning back in her chair and smirking a little, "even with his compromising attachment to the vampire he managed to take out an entire kiss." Danzo frowned at her as she said this.

"We don't know that for a fact," he was quick to correct. "All we know is that on the same night, at roughly the same time as he was taking out the Lord of the City, every vampire save the ones he had ties to were killed. We're not even sure if they _all_ are even really dead, let alone if he was the one responsible for the slaying." The woman waved her hand in dismissal of what he said.

"Nonetheless, the results are the same," she twirled a piece of her hair as she spoke. "If this is the kind of results we get from such partnerships, I'll advocate them. There would be a drastic drop in the vampire population, and when finally the ones that are left are the ones attached to slayers, we could just kill the slayers. A neat and precise answer to our recent problems." There was a thoughtful silence after she spoke. Indeed, slayers all over the world were having problems with the new 'citizenship' laws. Gone were the days when killing a vampire was not just a good deed, but perfectly legal. Now, slayers were being asked to provide proof that the vampire had done something wrong-as though attacking humans and killing them being part of their natures was not enough. No, now they wanted you to prove that they had attack someone. More and more of the old school, and better slayers were being carted off to jail for such things. Laws, which had once been on their side, were now being turned against them at an alarming rate.

"But not an answer to all of them," the white haired man said. "Assuming we could replicate what Sasuke and his vampire friend have managed to do, it does nothing to solve our issues with wer or other creatures. Not to mention that we could create a war within our own ranks once they figure out that we mean to kill them later."

"Which is why I say we kill them now," the one called Danzo said crossing his bandaged wrapped arms. "Take them out before they gain more power. Yes, they managed to kill the Lord of the City and have the potential to have killed the other vampires in the city. But one good deed does not negate the potential for many bad ones. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch and I have reason to believe that the other slayers in the area have been compromised by their own affection for Sasuke. Can you imagine slayers running about the country, or even the world, with no more allegiance to the Elders than to their friends? It would be chaos as our good name was dragged through the mud by them. No, we must nip this in the bud." By the time Danzo was done talking all of them were nodding grimly in agreement. All of them were good people, the very best slayers in the nation, and all of them enjoyed the privileges offered by their positions. That was the problem with what happened when you made it to the top, you gained a near lethal fear that you could fall. It was excellent motivation to do things that were not necessarily easy on your soul. Danzo was a master at using this fear to get what he wanted in the council. He had hated and envied both Sasuke and his family's powers and had been against him getting any kind of accreditation with them to begin with. He saw this as his chance to get rid of him for once and for all. He wondered if his speech would carry all the members of the council. Sometimes the good in one's soul could override the need for self-preservation that he had made this vote about. Danzo looked at them all grimly.

"Shall we vote?" Danzo and the others straightened themselves in their chairs in preparation for the vote. "All in favor?" he asked and four of the five hands shot into the air. He frowned at the lone dissenter, the blue tinged man. The man just grinned and showed rows of teeth sharpened to razor points.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," he said holding his hands up as though to show he meant no harm. "I'm not voting no. As a matter of fact, I'm abstaining. I can see reasons to kill the kid and reasons not to. Hell, I'd like to go a few rounds with him myself and see which one of us would end up dead. But I sure as shit don't feel qualified to order up his death at the moment." Danzo nodded in acknowledgement something not feeling right about the other's wish to not vote. The man had been an odd one since he had worked his way onto the council, voting as often as he chose not to, but always being present. Nothing ill had ever come of his choosing not vote though, so he let it slide.

"Then the matter is settled. Tomorrow night when he comes before us, he'll not be leaving," Danzo said as he stood, leaning heavily on his cane in a dramatic gesture. He held in his joy at taking down one of his enemies. It would not do for the others to see just how biased he was in his own decision.

* * *

Sasuke wondered absently if it was normal for a person to have this many instances this close together of being aware he was dreaming. Perhaps they had some pills somewhere he could take. He was in the middle of the desert at night, a cool wind chilling him through the thin silk of his pajama pants. The place was barren, not even any of the normal hardy scrub or cacti were present in the fine, white sand. Gone too, was the rush of activity that he knew was present in the desert at night. Stars stretched for miles around, bright like someone lit millions of perfect diamonds and then hung them from above. Brightest of all, and almost mistaken for the sun save for the fact that it gave off no heat was the moon. He frowned as he noticed something off in the horizon. At first he thought that it might be clouds, heavy, thick and blocking off the starlight. But, as it came closer, he could make out the fact that it was touching the sand. As a matter of fact, when he switched on his sharingan (which was oddly functioning like some kind of binoculars, but then again this was dreamscape), he could see the grains of sand as they were churned up. It was a sandstorm, then.

But, something else was coming with it. It was like a scent almost; registering somewhere deep, dark, and hidden within his brain. It spoke a single word in translation: _run_. Fear, black and almost as cold the parts of death he touched, bloomed in his gut. He spun in the sand, barely registering the movement as he launched himself in the opposite direction. Sand, Sasuke was learning, was not made for fast movement; with each step he sunk, climbing sand dunes often meant moving on all fours for balance, and he would roll down the other side. He was afraid to look back as he ran, though that primal part of his brain told him with certainty that the storm was still behind him. So, he was unsurprised when the storm caught him-thrusting sand down his throat and nose, wind slinging it harshly across his skin making him wonder vaguely if he would be so much as bones after the pounding.

Seconds passed before he became aware that raw scraping of new pain was gone. His skin still stung, his throat feeling like he had swallowed glass and his nose burning. He opened his eyes to find himself floating in the cool black that his mind remembered with the fear that was returning. This was why he had been running. His mind had known that this was what lay at the other side of the storm and it had not wanted to end up back there again. This was also what that second mark Naruto had given him was supposed to prevent. Anger bloomed at the thought that the other was playing with him in an attempt to get more control out of him and he latched onto that like a lifeline. Anger was better than fear. Anger you could turn into something, anger you could use to fight. Fear was good for nothing but providing delight to your tormentor.

"Strange," the bell like voice was behind him and he flung himself around to see her. What he saw had him choking on the nonexistent air in his throat. She was not as she had been before. True, she gave off that 'other', that 'wrong' vibe, but now she wore a different body. It was like she had poured what made her, her into another's body and it was so wrong to see those red eyes looking out of Sakura's face. "Strange, how your subconscious was more willing to put you through pain than to let me see you." Sasuke was still wrapping his mind around the fact she wore Sakura's face and body. An idea was creeping through his mind and it made him sick to think it, but it also stroked that tenuous flame of rage he was using to keep himself from cowering.

"What have you done to Sakura?" he asked, proud of how steady his voice was when facing this woman. He was reminded of that memory he had of Naruto standing before his master. Was this how he felt? Fear shrieking from the darkest corner of your mind, but still you had to stand against it. The first vampire looked down at herself as she seemed to realize just what he was talking about.

"This shell?" her voice carried no emotion, nor her face, but something spoke to his mind to tell him that she was amused. "I've borrowed it with no intention of giving it back. Do you like it? Was she a friend? A lover?" She moved closer as she spoke, until the last was whispered centimeters from his lips. Sasuke recoiled from her. She smirked and Sasuke realized she had wanted to see how far she could push him. She laughed as she moved back, her power making it slide over his skin. He shivered, and it was not from disgust or even fear. He shivered as the same part of him that knew she was a threat told him just how good it would feel to have that power. He wondered how truly perverse he was to crave it, even knowing the monster it was coming from.

"But you want it from Naruto," she was close again as he became paralyzed from the truth she was speaking. He failed to notice the fact she was reading the thoughts in his head or that she sounded just like that little voice in his head that had been crying out against what the two of them had since the beginning. "You crave it from him. Hell, when he uses his power to roll your mind, you get harder than you've ever been in your life. I bet," she said one hand sliding into his pants, "that even thinking about it like this is enough to get you hard." Sasuke made a strangled noise in his throat as her hands, Sakura's hands, found his half hard cock. She began to stroke him to full hardness as her power poured over him, looking for a way in. This was wrong, completely, utterly wrong. And yet, he stood there and let her do it. Why? Because the words she spoke were utterly, positively, true. "And what about his touch? You know his power is what keeps him from being truly dead and lies just under his skin. Touching him is torture, the pleasure from feeling his power run along your skin barely contained by the thin layer that is his own skin. And that's just a platonic touch, a passing brush. Can you imagine if there was intent behind it? If he touched you with the intent of drowning you in that pleasure? You'd be lost-utterly and completely his. All he'd have to do is offer it to you again and you'd do _anything_." The imposter wearing Sakura's face punctuated the last with a hard jerk that forced him to thrust back into her hand in automatic response. She was voicing his fears, the ones half-buried into the back of his mind and not fully formed yet.

"But I can save you from that Sasuke," she was gentle as she played with the tip of him with her finger tips. He listened as she spoke from the layer of his fear and doubt that had fallen over him. "All you have to do is say my name. Say my name Sasuke, and you'll never have to worry about being consumed by the pleasure of his existence again." Those last words resonated with something hidden deep in memory. A voice, frail and quiet, echoed through his mind. _Names have power._ He choked as he forced down the name that had been halfway out of his mouth. No, he would not give her any power. He was afraid of just what would happen to him thanks to Naruto, and he was afraid of being consumed by the pleasure and power his body was craving, but he would not run into someone else's arms asking them to fix his problems. He had done that once, with only one person. He had a flash of red eyes and tomoe along with a wicked smirk. Fuck that shit. He summoned courage from somewhere and shoved her away from him. She shrieked as stumbled back a few feet. Her face was contorted in anger, the expression different that when he had seen it on Sakura's face.

"Get the fuck out of my head," Sasuke snarled, tomoe spinning wildly in his eyes. He reached for the part of him that never wanted to willingly touch; dipping mental fingers into the pool of his power. He had no clue what he planned to do with it. He had no training for something like this. There was no chapter entitled how to deal with a vampire trying to make you their human servant, let alone a section for the mother of them all. But still, he pulled it into him. Kushina hissed and flashed her fangs as she moved toward him.

"This will be the last time I ask nicely, child," she said like a threat. There was no hesitation in his reply.

"Fuck no," Sasuke said in barely above a whisper. He didn't bother to let his reply register before he thrust his power at her. It hit her and she screamed. She, for all her power, was a vampire, and vampires were still dead. Sasuke didn't want her here, therefore his power moved to force her out. But for all his command of the dead, his will was weakened by his doubt. He did not embrace his power; he did not have command of _it_. And thus, she could push back. Sasuke power began to splinter and she began laughing. She could see her goal: she would follow his own power back into him. Sasuke realized it too, and the fear of it shattered what was left of the force of his power. _No_, he thought and then suddenly he couldn't breathe.

* * *

His eyes flew open and the light from his ceiling fan nearly blinded him after the harshness of the pitch black he had been in. It took him a second to comprehend that he was no longer there, fighting her, and absorb the fact that he was being held down by three of the people he might have considered friends. Karen was holding his feet and a quick look above him revealed Juugo holding his clasped hands. Suigetsu was straddling his torso, one hand over his mouth, the thumb resting on the bridge of his nose. It occurred to him then just what had happened. They'd come into his room, found him having a nightmare. When they couldn't get him to wake up, they held him down and woke him up in one of the surest methods: Suigetsu had cut off his airway. Realizing he was awake they moved off him.

"That must have been one hell of a nightmare," Suigetsu said reaching down to retrieve his sword which he had left on the floor. Sasuke glared as he stood, absently noting the other figure in his bed. A shock of blonde hair was just visible under the blanket. A flick of his eyes to the right told him it was just after eleven in the morning. Naruto was still dead as far as the world was concerned. Sasuke squashed disgust at himself for bothering to check on the other even after what happened. He had been in Naruto's mind. There was nothing malicious towards him there. _Nothing_.

"Earth to Sasuke, come in Sasuke," Karen said sticking her hand in front of his face and blocking Naruto from his line of sight. Sasuke blinked and looked at her, while one hell of a headache hit. He groaned and clutched his head.

"Get with it, Sasuke," Juugo's steady voice had him looking over at the demon. "We've got a problem." _You've got no idea,_ Sasuke thought.

"What now?" Sasuke asked sitting on the edge of his bed and choosing to ignore the fact that the three of them had likely broken in to his house in lieu of the fact that they had saved him from one very nasty vampire.

"The Elders have signed your death warrant," Suigetsu said bluntly.

"Wait a minute," Sasuke said as he brain began catching up to what was going on. Just how long had he been asleep? "Isn't the meeting tonight?"

"Yes," Juugo said gravely. "We learned from a source that they met last night in secret. Apparently, they think you had something to do with the slaughter of all the vampires in the city. That makes you a threat to their power." Sasuke held up his hand. He understood enough. Something else had just been dumped on his plate. He wondered if he would ever get some peace.

"Karen, can you put some coffee on? I need a shower before I deal with any more of this shit," Sasuke said standing up and making his way to the attached bathroom. The three slayers looked at one another briefly.

"Who wants to be the one to tell him that he has no coffee pot?" Karen asked. They had invited themselves in after knocking for fifteen minutes and not getting an answer. They had rushed in after seeing the messing in the kitchen. A mess that had been neatly stacked and also contained the remains of his coffee pot.

* * *

Reviews:

Kyorose: Glad you liked the chapter! As for whether or not Kushina passed that around as a rumor, we'll see.

cfox: I know it took forever to update this time too. Sorry about that...

Halskr: More twisty turns ahoy!

Kami Kaze: Glad my update made your day then. Maybe this one will too? I'm happy you like the way the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto is going. Sasuke has been headbangingly hard to write as of late.

Chronos Guardian: Naruto's power is being played down at this point, mostly because Sasuke has absorbed the role as main character. It should, however, gain some more promience when they face the Elders.

Astharoche: I'm prolly going to give you more of a reason to hate Tayuya soon...And as for Sasuke not excepting liking Naruto and such, I hope this chapter gives some insight.

2stupid: Kimimaro. I think. *sigh* I have to write the chapters with no internet and then transfer them over. So sometimes I can'y look up name spellings. So forgiveness?

A Single Fragile Rose: Glad you believe in my grammar. Most of the time it's pretty rough on my end. Thank you for the luck!

xRose Petalx: Here's your update!

xKurio: I'm honored you spent hours on reading this and even more houred that I had served some part in your inspiration. -bows humbly-

Soaha: I have no plans to turn Sasuke into a vampire. I like him being human. Gives him a little more desperation in his actions.

Yanita: Anita Blake was the inspiration for this piece. I love her works.

Broken Sexed Up Bloody Kitten: -coughs- Thank you for the spelling corrections. I'll fix them as soon as I have time.

Chibi-Chaaan: Glad you're enjoying the plot interweaving. Some days it makes me want to smack myself for putting those things in there.

shanayuijchan: Yep, I read her books. I would rec them except for the fact that mentioning her would likely pull me up on the bigbrother end of things on this site. lol. I can rec fastforward if you want a good naruto/vamp fic.

Momo: Bingo! Glad you caught them. Pick anything else out in this one?

kai: Kakashi knows what's going on to a certain extent. He's just treating everything like a novel his watching unfold. Don't worry, he has more to tell yet. Glad you got a comp back.

force majeur: I'll deal with the flames. That's why I stick them on the end. I figure this way I can talk to everyone without trying to use that review response button. Feels too much like email to me, and this keeps a record of the reviews. But glad you like the story.

moopad: Continuing~


End file.
